Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton wishes he’d have made a better play call on the infamous fourth down early in the 10-7 AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots.
“Now, specifically, to the fourth-down call. I don’t know which is the greater regret — the decision, certainly the play call,” he said Tuesday, via the team’s official transcript.
Facing a fourth-and-1 from the Patriots’ 14-yard line after Jarrett Stidham‘s scramble, Payton called a pass play that was dead on arrival. The Patriots stacked the line and then squeezed the middle, taking away the QB sneak and inside run. New England didn’t buy the play-action fake, with Cory Durden and Milton Williams both pressuring Stidham immediately. At that point, the QB was just trying to get rid of the ball. Pats corners played tight at the line, giving the pass zero chance of being completed.
“I think probably what irks me more is the call more than the decision,” Payton said. “It’s still early in the game. Now we knew there were going to be flurries. Well, we have a new feel for flurries here, or what can change at the base of the mountain. There are those moments that you wish you had back.”