The Denver Broncos' season has ended much earlier than they had expected. After picking up 14 wins and clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the expectation in that building and city was that they would make the trip to Santa Clara, Calif. for Super Bowl 60. Instead, their season ended one win short.
On Sunday, the Broncos lost 10-7 to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. The Broncos entered the game at a disadvantage, with Bo Nix out for the rest of the playoffs after suffering an ankle fracture in their Divisional Round win over the Buffalo Bills, leaving them to start backup Jarrett Stidham against the Patriots. Yet, the loss can't be placed solely on Stidham, as the team as a whole dropped the ball.
After the game, Payton spoke with CBS Sports' Evan Washburn and shared the message he told the locker room following the gutting loss.
“It’s hard when you get to this game, and man I can’t tell you anything that’s going to change how you feel right now. We’re proud of them. They played hard. Wasn’t good enough today. Wasn’t good enough by us, myself. This is probably one of the closer teams that I’ve coached. You tell them you love them, and that’s about it," said Payton.
Sean Payton shares message to Broncos locker room after AFC Championship Game loss
This game will go down as a massive missed opportunity for the Broncos. They were only down three points to the Patriots despite everything going on. Whether it was Stidham unable to make plays with New England's defense pressuring him or the brutal, snowy conditions in Denver. They were still in it.
Unfortunately for Denver, one decision by Payton did come back to haunt them. In the second quarter, the Broncos were deep in Patriots territory. After a five yard gain on a Stidham scramble, the Broncos faced a fourth-and-one situation on New England's own 14-yard line. Instead of going for the points with a field goal, Payton decided to go for it. The end result? A Stidham incomplete pass to running back RJ Harvey. In hindsight, that decision cost Denver.
Denver's defense did their best to keep them in the game, but the offense just couldn't get anything going. New England's offense was held to just 206 yards on 64 plays. As for Denver's offense, they gained just 181 yards on 58 plays.
This season will go down as one with plenty of what ifs? What if Nix never got injured in the Bills game? What if Payton just took the points on that fourth-and-one situation in the AFC Championship Game? Sure, it may have been a great season overall, but the Broncos and the fanbase will think about the missed opportunities in this game for quite a while.