One of the most consequential plays of the AFC Championship Game came on a fourth-and-1 from the New England 14-yard line in the second quarter.
The Broncos were leading 7-0 at the time, but head coach Sean Payton passed on a field goal in order to have backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham throw a pass in an attempt to convert a first down and try for a touchdown. Stidham was pressured and wound up nearly getting his pass intercepted to cap a drive that would move the Broncos closer to the end zone than they would get at any other point in the afternoon.
“I just felt like we had the momentum to get up 14,” Payton said in his postgame press conference. “I felt like we had a good call. . . . I think the feeling was, let’s be aggressive. I was just watching the way our defense was playing.”
The Broncos defense was playing well and it continued to play well once the game became a snowy and windy affair over the final 20 minutes or so. Payton referenced the conditions in his press conference by saying “you don’t know how a game’s gonna unfold” and how valuable three points would turn out to be, although it’s hard to imagine any coach not appreciating a two-score lead in the first half with a backup running the offense.
Denver had other opportunities over the course of the afternoon, but two longer field goal tries were no good and Stidham had the only two turnovers of a game that the Broncos entered with a very slim margin for error. That proved to be too much to overcome and they’ll have to wait a long time before they’ll have a chance to get back on the field.
