Payton's curious calls again haunt Broncos as they're all but eliminated from AFC playoff race

Updated Dec. 26, 2023 5:18 p.m. ET

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DENVER (AP) — Bill Belichick seemed content to take the game into overtime, but Sean Payton wanted another crack in regulation, so he called a pair of timeouts that ultimately helped the New England Patriots all but torpedo the Denver Broncos' playoff plans with a 26-23 stunner at frigid Empower Field on Christmas Eve.

The Broncos had rallied to tie it at 23 earlier in the fourth quarter on a pair of touchdowns and a couple of 2-point conversions. And they got the ball back at their 39 with 1:42 remaining, needing about 25 yards to get into range for Wil Lutz to kick the game-winner.

They chewed up neither clock nor yards, however, and punted the ball back to the Patriots after Russell Wilson followed a screen pass to Javonte Williams that lost 3 yards with a pair of incompletions.

“We’re not throwing caution into the wind,” Payton said of the play-calling after the Patriots snuffed out the screen. “We kind of had some momentum throwing the ball. We were giving Russ time protection-wise. We were going to be smart, but we were not going to be careless with it. Let us just say that.”

With one timeout to Denver's three, Belichick, overseeing one of the worst offenses in the NFL, one that averaged fewer than 14 points a game, called for a run on first down from his 19 with 58 seconds remaining.

After a 6-yard gain, Payton used his first timeout at 52 seconds.

Another run gained a yard and Payton called his second timeout at 47 seconds.

On third-and-3, the Broncos rushed only four and Zappe found DeVante Parker for a back-shoulder catch with star cornerback Patrick Surtain II in coverage for a back-breaking, 26-yard gain that set up Chad Ryland's 56-yard, game-winning field goal with 2 seconds remaining.

After starting out 1-5, the Broncos have been walking a tightrope since October, with every blunder magnified.

“Our margin of error isn’t what we need it to be,” said Payton, who bypassed a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 2 in the first quarter and watched Williams get stuffed and the Broncos come away empty-handed after getting a takeaway on the first snap of the game.

And now their playoff chances are wafer-thin.

They're 12th in the AFC playoff race, although at 7-8 they amazingly still have a shot at winning the AFC West.

They'll have to beat the Chargers at home on New Year's Eve and the Raiders on the road in Week 18, plus the Chiefs (9-6) would have to lose at home to the Bengals this weekend and again at the Chargers next week.

The Broncos were 7 1/2-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, making the Patriots the fourth underdog to win at Denver in Payton’s first season. This latest upset left the Broncos with just an 8% chance of ending their long playoff drought, according to the NFL’s calculations.

The primary culprit in this mess is Denver's middling offense, which hasn't done much to complement a defense that's carried the load most of the season.

“So many times, when we look at some of that stuff, it’s self-inflicted problems. That has to get cleaned up,” Payton said. “That’s communication. That might be having to reduce — is there too much in? Right now, we’re average to below average in a lot of things offensively, and it’s not good enough.”

WHAT’S WORKING

A week after recording his first sack of the season, defensive lineman D.J. Jones recorded a trifecta on the first snap Sunday night, strip-sacking Bailey Zappe and recovering the loose ball himself.

WHAT NEEDS WORK

The Broncos' offense couldn't punch it in from the New England 6 after Jones' trifecta, setting the tone for the night.

STOCK UP

Marvin Mims Jr. had a 52-yard punt return to go with a 47-yard reception.

STOCK DOWN

Mims fumbled a kickoff that New England returned for a touchdown.

INJURIES

WR Courtland Sutton is in concussion protocol. ... The Broncos still expect TE Greg Dulcich (hamstring, foot) to play this season, but time is running out on the second-year pro, who has only played in parts of two games this season.

KEY NUMBER

20-0 — The margin by which the Patriots outscored the Broncos in the third quarter, when Denver managed a mere 15 yards and a single first down.

NEXT STEPS

The Broncos host the Chargers on New Year's Eve, when they'll go for their first sweep of Los Angeles since 2019.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

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