Broncos coach Sean Payton has had some time to reflect on his decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 in the second quarter of Sunday’s loss in the AFC Championship Game, and he says the mistake he made was calling a bad play, not going for it.
“I don’t know which is the greater regret, the decision — certainly the play call,” Payton said.
After quarterback Jarrett Stidham ran for five yards on third-and-6, Payton called timeout to think about what he wanted to do on fourth-and-1. Payton wishes he had come up with a better play than the incomplete pass Stidham threw, which never looked like it had a chance.
“We used a timeout,” Payton said. “Probably what irks me more is the call, more than the decision.”
Payton has been criticized for not kicking a 32-yard field goal, especially considering that there was snow coming in the second half and points were going to be at a premium. Payton indicated the snow turned out to be worse than the forecast he had seen.
“It’s still early in the game, and we knew that there would be flurries — well, we have a new feel for flurries here,” Payton said.
Payton said he wishes he could do it over again but will never listen to the criticism of his call because coaches who concern themselves with criticism don’t win.
“There are those moments you wish you had back,” Payton said. “I don’t pay attention to all the criticism. If I paid attention to that, I don’t know that we’d ever be in this position.”
