The Broncos were in the AFC Championship Game because of Sean Payton. Denver isn’t going to the Super Bowl because of Sean Payton.
When the head coach was hired, he took over a team in disarray. In the three years since, he’s righted the ship and returned a storied franchise to winning ways.
The year before Payton arrived in the Mile High City, the Broncos were 5-12. In this three seasons on the job, Denver has been steadily improving.
He went 8-9 in his first campaign, barely missing the playoffs. Last year, the Broncos went 10-7, ending a nine-year postseason drought. And this season, Denver was 14-3, earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and advanced to the AFC Championship Game.
That’s a remarkable turnaround. It’s impossible not to credit the head coach with making it happen.
That said, the Broncos season is over because of Payton. Denver isn’t playing in Super Bowl LX because of their head coach.
With 9:28 to play in the second quarter of the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, the Broncos had a 7-0 lead. They were facing a fourth-and-1 from the Patriots 14-yard line.
It was tempting to go for it. A 14-0 lead in the AFC title game hard to ignore. But the smart play was to take the field goal.
The Broncos didn’t have Bo Nix on the field. They were playing without their starting quarterback. So a two-score lead with Jarrett Stidham at the helm was a gift. It would allow Denver to rely on their defense, which has been the strength of their team all season. And it would pad their lead before the weather turned ugly in the second half, which the forecast predicted.
Payton didn’t see it that way. He rolled the dice. And he threw a seven.
On a play that had no chance of working, Stidham threw an incompletion. It was arguably the biggest call of the Broncos season. And it was one of the worst.
In a game that was all about defense, especially once snow rolled in, Payton would’ve been wise to take the points. Instead, his ego got the better of him.
Payton thought he could come up with the big play call in the big moment. He didn’t.
Ultimately, the Broncos lost by three points. They needed to get to 10 to force overtime. They could’ve hit that mark just 20 minutes into the game.
But that wasn’t the only point in which Payton’s moxie got the better of him. The head coach also boasted about his backup quarterback for eight days; he raved about Stidham from the time Bo Nix’s injury was announced.
As the week progressed, everyone started to believe the hype. The point spread dropped from 5.5 in favor of the Patriots to 3.5. The money was coming in ont the Broncos; the bettors were believing in Stidham.
That was nothing more than false hope. It was a coach’s bravado overriding evidence.
Stidham entered the AFC Championship Game with a 1-3 record as a starter. He had thrown eight touchdown passes in his career, mirrored by eight interceptions. He was the definition of a journeyman, but Payton insisted otherwise.
He spent money on the backup quarterback during his first months as the Broncos head coach. He laughably argued that Stidham was a better option than Russell Wilson at the end of the 2023 campaign. And he stated all week that his No. 2 QB was going to get it done.
Um, not so much.
On the day, Stidham was 17-of-31 for 133 yards. He threw one touchdown and one interception. His offense put up 11 first downs, 181 total yards and seven points. And his costly turnover basically gave the Patriots their only touchdown of the day.
But that’s not the whole story. The reality is that the Broncos had chance after chance after chance to win the game. And they couldn’t deliver.
New England took a 10-7 lead with a field goal in the third quarter. After that moment, the Broncos had umpteen opportunities to tie the game or take the lead. But Stidham couldn’t deliver.
Punt. Three and out.
Punt. Three and out.
Punt. Six plays and 17 yards.
Missed field goal. After getting just five yards.
Interception.
In the second half, the Broncos had the ball five times. They ran 18 plays and amassed 32 yards.
That’s on the head coach. He’s the guy calling the plays. He’s the one who picked the quarterback. He’s the one who boasted that his team could get it done with a backup behind center.
Sean Payton was wrong. He was wrong about Jarrett Stidham. He was wrong not to kick the field goal in the first half. And he was wrong with his second-half play calling.
A mediocre Patriots team is going to the Super Bowl. The Broncos are not.
And that’s on Sean Payton. He dropped the ball in the biggest moment the franchise has faced in a decade.
The head coach was wrong. Period. And the Broncos season is done as a result.
