What Sean Payton said about Broncos going for it on fourth down instead of kicking field goal during AFC Championship loss

New England Patriots

“I just felt like we had momentum to get up 14,” Payton said. “It felt like we had a good call.”

Sean Payton said the Broncos’ loss in the AFC Championship game starts with the head coach himself.

Payton made a decision in the second quarter that was, in hindsight, quite helpful for the Patriots. New England was struggling to move the ball, and Denver had jumped out to an early 7-0 lead.

The Broncos had the ball in a 4th-and-1 on the New England 14-yard line. Instead of kicking a field-goal and potentially going up 10 points, Denver aggressively tried to go for it on fourth down and the Patriots got the stop. Rookie safety Craig Woodson broke up Jarrett Stidham’s passing attempt.

“I just felt like we had momentum to get up 14,” Payton said after the game. “It felt like we had a good call.

“I think the feeling was, ‘Let’s be aggressive.’ To get up 14, I was just watching the way our defense was playing and the turnover on our end resulting in a touchdown, outside of that, I thought we did a good job in containing them. There will be a number of things when we watch the tape I’ll have to look at and critique and pay attention to, but it was a hard-fought game and we didn’t do enough to win it.”

Payton said Denver had success running the play they picked in the past, and felt comfortable going for it.

“Well, we ended up in a 6-1 front, they ended up playing like a heavy 6-1,” Payton said. “There actually was a clock stoppage, so we had a nickel run called, and then, I don’t know if there was a timeout or they called one, but it’s a slipper naked [play] that we’ve run pretty well. They played a kind of a 6-1 front with a two-deep shell, so in hindsight, the initial sub run look was a better decision.”

The move backfired, and New England held Denver scoreless for the rest of the game.

“It’s also a call you make based on what you’re watching and the team that is on the other side of the ball,” Payton said. “So, there will always be second-thoughts.”

The snowy weather conditions made it difficult to move the ball late in the game as the Patriots hung on for a 10-7 win. Leonard Taylor blocked a potential game-tying kick, and Christian Gonzalez grabbed a clutch interception late in the fourth quarter.

“Tip our hats to New England. It was a hard-fought game, I thought, defensively,” Payton said. “You don’t know that it’s going to be like this three-point game. That’s tough, especially in this game.”

Sunday marked the first time the Patriots ever beat the Broncos in Denver during the playoffs. It was a disappointing loss given the way that things unfolded, Payton said.

“You hurt for every one of those players in that locker room,” Payton said. “You don’t know how a game is going to unfold, and then how it began to unfold. I felt like most of the first half, we played on their side of the field. We didn’t score enough points offensively or capitalize on that field position.”

“The turnovers hurt us and we had our opportunities, but it starts with the head coach and the rest of our staff.”

What’s your message to the Pats ahead of the Super Bowl?

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

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