There were many chances for the Denver Broncos to either pull ahead or pull even during Sunday’s AFC Championship game, but the one that will likely haunt fans for a while is the failed fourth-down call in the second quarter. Inside of the New England Patriots’ 15-yard line, Jarrett Stidham threw an incomplete pass, turning the ball over on downs, closing the book on one of the best scoring chances of the day.
Had Denver converted a field goal instead of attempting to convert 4th-and-1, they would have taken a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. Broncos coach Sean Payton explained his aggressiveness after an eventual 10-7 loss.
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«It just felt like we had momentum to get up 14,» Payton said. «It felt like we had a good call. What were we at yard-line-wise there? Yes, I think the feeling was, ‘Man, let’s be aggressive.’ To get up 14, I was just watching the way our defense was playing. Look the turnover on our end resulting in a touchdown, and outside of that, I thought we did a good job in containing them.»
Payton was later asked in a follow-up question if he regrets going for it instead of attempting a short field goal.
“There are always regrets,» Payton admitted. «Yes. I mean, look, I felt like here we are, fourth-and-1. We felt close enough that, and it is also a call you make based on the team you’re playing and what you’re watching on the other side of the ball. So yes, there’ll always be second thoughts.”
Some fans and pundits have also questioned the pass call. Payton admitted the original call was a run and should have stayed that way.
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«We ended up in a 6-1 front,» Payton explained. «They ended up playing a heavy 6-1. There 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 that we’ve run pretty well. They played a 6-1 front with a kind of 2-deep shell. So the run look was going to be… In hindsight, the sub run, the initial sub run thought was a better decision.”
Hindsight is always 20-20. Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham agreed with the call Payton made.
«We were kind of moving the ball really well on that drive and you get an opportunity, fourth-and-1, convert and try to go up 14 [points] if you can,» Stidham said. «That’s part of it. [It] just didn’t work out on that one play. That’s just football.”
Denver tight end Evan Engram summed it up to the Denver Post’s Luca Evans: «I think — you live and die by who you are. And he’s made those calls all year. So, today, we died by it.”
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Denver Broncos: Sean Payton regrets 4th down decision vs. Patriots
