Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton did something extremely gutsy against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
And it worked brilliantly.
Down 17-16 in the fourth quarter, with 7:36 to go, Payton went for a two-point conversion to take the lead on the defending Super Bowl champions.
QB Bo Nix, who had just thrown a touchdown to Evan Engram, found wide receiver Troy Franklin to give Denver an 18-17 lead. They’d go on to win 21-17, completing an epic fourth quarter comeback after entering the frame down 17-3.
The Broncos moved to 3-2 on the season after stunning the Eagles, and the two-point decision from Sean Payton will be the talk of the town.
He explained his thinking during the postgame press conference.
“We came here to win a game. And I had two or three calls that I loved. So sometimes you use the calls, inside the five, but we got to a call that I had a lot of confidence in and guys executed. It was perfect,” Payton said. “Let’s do that, let’s keep being aggressive.”
It was supremely aggressive from Sean Payton, and it ended up being a huge decision. Once the Broncos took a 21-17 lead late, Philadelphia needed a touchdown instead of a field goal that could’ve forced OT.
Denver’s defense broke up a Hail Mary in the end zone on the final play of the game — and that was enough to steal the victory.
“In the end, I think we got the better of them in the trenches, and we finished,” Payton said.
That was the signature win that Payton, Nix and the rest of the Broncos had been looking for.
And if this season turns out to be special, we might remember that two-point call in Philly the rest of the way. It was the type of faith in his offense from Sean Payton that can inspire a team to go on a nice winning-streak.
