What Sean Payton said about not kicking field goal in Broncos’ loss to Patriots
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Payton declined a 31-yard field-goal on fourth down, citing momentum to lead 14.
- Broncos failed on the fourth-down try; Patriots won 10-7 in inclement weather.
- Former coaches criticized not kicking, forecasting that three points would decide.
Chiefs fans could feel the Broncos’ pain Sunday.
Denver missed multiple field goals and lost a playoff game 10-7 at home, falling to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
It wasn’t quite the “Lin Elliott Game” from 30 years ago, but there were some similarities. Like the 1995 Chiefs, the Broncos lost just three regular-season games, were the top seed in the AFC field and took the lead on a first-quarter touchdown only to not score again.
One big difference: Chiefs fans were thrilled with the outcome of Sunday’s game, as the Broncos are an archrival.
Early in Sunday’s game, the Broncos seemed to be on their way to an easy victory. After going up 7-0, Denver had the ball in the red zone early in the second quarter.
But facing a fourth-and-1 on the Patriots’ 14-yard line, Broncos coach Sean Payton chose not to kick a field goal and went for it. The Patriots stopped Denver and those three points proved to be the difference in the game.
Former NFL coaches weighed in on the decision after Jarrett Stidham’s pass to RJ Harvey fell incomplete, and the Patriots took possession.
Former Broncos coach Wade Phillips wrote on X: “Low scoring game— kick the FG?”
Tony Dungy, the former Colts and Buccaneers coach, wrote on X: “As I said earlier…with these two defenses and the weather forecast…will the Broncos regret not having those 3 points at the end of the game? Yes. Points were going to be hard to get today.”
Payton shared his thinking in his postgame news conference.
“Just felt like, man, we had momentum to get up 14,” Payton said. “It felt like we had a good call. And, you know, to get up 14, I was just watching the way our defense was playing. ... I mean, look: The turnover on our end resulting in a (Patriots) touchdown, and outside of that, man, I’ll look at and ... critique and pay close attention to (it). But it’s a hard-fought game, and we didn’t do it enough to win it.”
Like those former coaches, plenty of other people blamed Payton for not taking the field goal, especially with the potential of snow and wind in the forecast.
This story was originally published January 25, 2026 at 6:34 PM.
