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The Broncos watched their Super Bowl dreams vanish into the snowy Mile High air Sunday. Coach Sean Payton didn’t mince words after the heartbreaking 10-7 loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
“[I’m] hurting for every one of those players in that locker room,” Payton said. “We didn’t do enough to win it.”
What haunts Payton most? Not capitalizing when they had momentum before the Rocky Mountain snowstorm arrived at halftime.
The numbers tell a brutal story. Denver’s offense managed just 32 yards and a single first down in the second half. They couldn’t build on the early spark provided by Jarrett Stidham’s 52-yard connection with Marvin Mims Jr. in the first quarter that set up their lone touchdown.
Nothing clicked after that.
Kicker Wil Lutz missed a field goal attempt, and their potential game-tying kick with under five minutes remaining was blocked. After Mims’ explosive first-quarter catch, the Broncos’ longest play was just 12 yards.
“We didn’t score enough points and capitalize on that field position,” Payton admitted. “Starts with the head coach and rest of our staff.”
One decision will haunt Payton all offseason. With 9:28 left in the second quarter, leading 7-0 and facing fourth-and-1 at the Patriots’ 14-yard line, he opted to go for it rather than take the points. At that point, New England’s longest drive had been just 11 yards, and Denver’s defense was dominating.
What makes it worse? Payton originally called a run play but changed his mind during a timeout.
“I just felt like, man, we had momentum, to get up 14 [points], felt like we had a good call,” Payton explained. “I think the feeling was, man, let’s be aggressive. You know, to get up 14, I was just watching the way our defense was playing.”
The revised play – a bootleg pass – failed when Patriots defensive tackles Cory Durden and Milton Williams immediately broke through Denver’s line, forcing Stidham to rush his throw.
“There’s always regrets,” Payton said. “In hindsight, the original run play was a better decision.”
The weather turned brutal after halftime, making those missed opportunities even more costly. In the swirling snow, Denver’s offense completely stalled – 22 rushing yards, 10 passing yards, and no drive longer than 17 yards.
“Became apparent that with each possession, a field goal, that type of thing was going to be real important,” Payton said. “And we weren’t able to get it done.”
The first half told the real story. Denver had three possessions starting at their own 40 or better but converted just one into points – a 6-yard touchdown pass from Stidham to Courtland Sutton.
Offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey summed it up perfectly: “They executed one more possession than we did. And we’re going to have to sit with that until next year.”
