Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton deserves to be at the top of the list for NFL Coach of the Year in 2025. Payton and the Broncos are now 13-3 after their win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas night, and it was Payton's call late in the game that ended up sealing the win for the Broncos.
The Broncos' offense was facing a 4th-and-2 with the score tied at 13 points apiece. A field goal would have given the Broncos a lead with a young quarterback out of his depth operating the other team's offense, but a converted fourth down would give the Broncos a shot to put seven points on the board instead of three.
With the #1 seed on the line, you take the 3 points, but Payton had the luxury of trying to get the Chiefs to jump offside, and he drew up an absolutely genius play to make it happen.
Sean Payton's genius play call gives Broncos the win vs. Chiefs in Week 17
On the 4th down play, Bo Nix came out of the huddle and sprinted to the right side of the formation...as a wide receiver.
RJ Harvey was playing the "wildcat" position as a quarterback, which is a look the Broncos have shown before this season. The Chiefs were truly expecting the Broncos to go for it, because star defensive lineman Chris Jones jumped early, and gave the Broncos a free first down.
It was the Chiefs' first and only penalty of the entire game, but it ended up being effectively a game-winning play for the Broncos. After that five-yard infraction, the Broncos would go on to score a touchdown instead of kicking a field goal. And with Chris Oladokun leading the Chiefs in to field goal range on the final drive, the Broncos could have been in for some serious trouble had that penalty not taken place.
Payton and Harvey said Harvey went silent count with getting man in motion and kicking his leg up but it was Quinn Meinerz from right guard who barked the “hut” or whatever that drew Chris Jones offsides. Payton said he wasn’t going to run a play if Chiefs didn’t jump. https://t.co/LcDBLvm21U
— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) December 26, 2025
To add another wrinkle to that play, it wasn't even the cadence of Harvey that got Jones to jump offsides, but the "bark" of offensive guard Quinn Meinerz. Hey, whatever works, right?
Meinerz got Jones to jump offsides, giving the Broncos a first down and shifting the entire feel of the game. The Chiefs also ended up having to use two of their timeouts to preserve the clock after that. It was just a massive play in the game, but how easy would it have been for Sean Payton just to send out his field goal unit instead of even trying it?
Payton has done his part to change the culture of the franchise, but this was an instance of his abilities as a game manager and chess player in that head coach's chair coming into play. It was a truly game-changing decision in the win vs. Kansas City.