The Denver Broncos incredible season ended on a snowy Sunday afternoon. The Broncos hosted the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, and lost 10-7. The Broncos were at a disadvantage with Bo Nix recovering from ankle surgery, relying on Jarrett Stidham to led the team to Super Bowl 60. Stidham was not the sole reason for the Broncos' loss. There was head coach Sean Payton's decision-making and a missed field goal attempt by kicker Wil Lutz in the fourth quarter.
Lutz attempted to tie the game at 10-10 with a 45-yard field goal attempt when the snow was picking up in Denver. Unfortunately for Lutz, his attempt was blocked by Patriots defensive lineman Leonard Taylor.
After the game, Lutz was asked about the attempt, where he said he believed the team may have been lined up a yard short of the snap due to the heavy snow.
"My guess is, unfortunately, you couldn't see the lines on the field and honestly we might have been a yard short on the snap. ... We had to kind of estimate," said Lutz, h/t Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post.
Wil Lutz clarifies post-game comments, takes full responsibility for missed field goal in Broncos AFC title loss
The field conditions were poor during the snow, as evidenced during the broadcast where CBS had to digitally place the yard marks onto the turf.
On Monday, Lutz clarified his comments, saying that he was emotional after the game and that he takes full responsibility for missing the field goal after watching tape from the AFC Championship Game.
Just to clarify so my words aren’t taken out of context….i was absolutely gutted during my media session after the game. I take full responsibility for the missed kick at the end of the game. We were lined up correctly after looking at the tape. The conditions made it tough to… https://t.co/LpMpnnofAJ
— Wil Lutz (@wil_lutz5) January 26, 2026
"I take full responsibility for the missed kick at the end of the game. We were lined up correctly after looking at the tape. The conditions made it tough to see the lines, but that can never be an excuse. This is on me and no one else. The result of any kick always ends with me. This has been an amazing year that ended in heartbreak for our team. We cannot wait to get back to work and back in front of Broncos Country," writes Lutz.
Lutz wanted to let the fans know that he wasn't trying to make an excuse for his field goal attempt being blocked. After looking at the tape, he noticed that the Broncos' kicking unit was lined up properly in the snow, and he wanted to take full responsibility.
It was a rough outing for Lutz overall, as he missed both of his field goal attempts in the game. The other miss arrived in the second quarter, with Lutz' 54-yard attempt sailing wide right. Those were six points off of the board, potentially enough to clinch a spot in Super Bowl 60.
This will be a game featuring plenty of what ifs, such as what if the Broncos had a healthy Nix in the AFC Championship Game or what if Payton had taken the points and went for a field goal in the first half on fourth-and-one in the red zone. These will be questions that linger throughout the offseason. But it could very well be used as a learning experience for Denver to potentially make a run to the Super Bowl next season.