The Denver Broncos were unable to convert on a key play in the game and it may have cost them a trip to the Super Bowl.
Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham takes the snap against the New England Patriots during the second half of the AFC Championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver.cost his team a trip to Super Bowl LIX, as the New England Patriots won 10-7 in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.
faked a handoff and ran a bootleg. However, his pass to running back R.J. Harvey was incomplete, turning the ball over on downs. On social media, Payton was criticized for not kicking the field goal and taking the points, especially with Stidham, who was replacing an injured, at quarterback and snow showers arriving later in the game. The Broncos’ offense never reached Patriots territory that deep again. The Patriots scored 10 unanswered points to win the game.when he was asked if he regretted going for the first down instead of kicking the field goal that would have put the Broncos up 10-0. “There’s always regrets,” Payton said. “We felt close enough that... It’s 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, yeah, there’ll always be second thoughts.” Payton said the Patriots used a six-man front, and the Broncos had a run play designed to attack a different defensive look. Payton said during the timeout called before the ill-fated fourth-down attempt, he decided to call the play-action pass they used, explaining the play had worked for the team throughout the season.Payton added he would look at that play closely when reviewing the film from the game and heading into the offseason. “It’s decisions like that, the tough ones on fourth-and-1,” Payton said. “It’s frustrating. I felt like we’d be able to run the ball more consistently. I thought that was going to be important. We felt like we had one of our better run plans going in. I have to see the film.”Chris Franklin is an NFL reporter for NJ Advance Media, covering anything and everything that has to do with the team. Chris joined the Eagles beat in 2020, spending the previous three years covering local news...
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