When you’re in an AFC Championship game with a backup quarterback, there’s a thin line between being aggressive and being smart. Sean Payton chose the aggressive route, and that decision ended up haunting the Denver Broncos. Instead of taking the easy three on fourth-and-short, Payton rolled the dice. Denver later lost to the New England Patriots by three points, and the head coach didn’t shy away from admitting the regret.

“There’s always regrets,” Payton said in his post-game press conference. “I mean, look, I felt here we are fourth and one, we felt close enough that, and 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 will always be second thoughts.”

The moment came early, which made it sting even more. Jarrett Stidham had given Denver a perfect start, following up a 52-yard strike to Marvin Mims with a touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton. Up 7–0 and riding momentum, the Broncos faced a fourth-and-short. With Bo Nix sidelined due to injury, most expected Payton to play it safe and extend the lead. Instead, he stayed aggressive. And that’s where things unraveled.

Denver went for it. The play call felt shaky from the jump, and the Patriots shut it down without much trouble. No 10–0 cushion. No early separation. And almost immediately, the momentum flipped. Drake Maye’s squad answered. New England tied the game, took the lead soon after, and from there, the Broncos were stuck at seven points for the rest of the matchup.

Making his first start in more than a couple of years, Stidham finished 17-of-31 for 133 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while also taking three sacks. On the other side, Vance Joseph’s defense once again did its part, consistently winning up front and bringing down Maye five times. But at the end of the day, Denver failed to materialize it.

And now, the Patriots are once again headed to the Super Bowl after winning the Lamar Hunt Trophy and ending the Broncos’ Lombardi hopes. And that fourth-down stop wasn’t the only one. Wil Lutz also missed a field goal, another three points that, in a game decided by a field goal, loomed just as large.

Sean Payton’s kicker explained the missed field goal

The AFC Championship wasn’t expected to turn into an offensive shootout. And to its credit, it didn’t. But what no one saw coming was special teams quietly becoming a deciding factor. Both teams missed a field goal. The difference was that Denver couldn’t afford theirs. And after Wil Lutz’s crucial miss in the first half, the Broncos’ kicker explained what went wrong.

“unfortunately you couldn’t see the lines on the field. We might have been a yard short on the snap,” Lutz said, as per the Broncos’ beat writer, Zac Stevens.

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The explanation isn’t hard to accept. Lutz had been reliable all season and entered Sunday with plenty of confidence. Still, on the biggest stage of the year, the miss loomed larger than usual, especially because it came early and helped shape how the rest of the game played out. The sequence itself was simple but costly.

Denver began its final drive of the first half near midfield, clearly intent on adding points before the break. Then came the sack on Stidham. What should’ve been a manageable 52-yard attempt suddenly turned into a 54-yarder. With only a light wind in play, Lutz’s kick drifted just wide right. A rare miss for the 10-year veteran.

The game stayed tied at 7 after that. And by the time the final whistle blew, New England had pushed into double digits while Denver hadn’t. That margin told the story. The Patriots are now headed to the Super Bowl, where they’ll face either the Seattle Seahawks or the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium. For the Broncos, it was the end of a strong season under Sean Payton.