Sean Payton Explains Botched Courtland Sutton Trick Play on 3rd Down

'You can't go broke taking a profit' is a popular NFL maxim. Is it possible Sean Payton has never heard it?

Nov 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton (14) is tackled by Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Charles Snowden (49) in the fourth quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Tied 7-7 in the third quarter, the Denver Broncos faced a pivotal 3rd-&-1 vs. the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night. On an evening in which the Broncos' offense was woefully, painfully inefficient, Sean Payton had his ground game humming modestly well on this drive, with J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey combining for 32 rushing yards on six attempts.

That took a 53-yard Wil Lutz field-goal attempt and turned it into a much tougher 58-yarder. He missed.

After the game, Payton explained his decision to call a trick play there instead of another run or a quarterback dive, despite the ground game being the reason the Broncos were in plus-territory on that drive.

“Yes, listen, it is a play we’ve had up. It’s short yardage, so it’s a misdirect. We’ve called this before," Payton explained. "They did a good job peeling on the running back, and so when it works, it looks great. AndCourtland was smart, not throwing it.”

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Not the Night for Trick Plays

Nov 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton during the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

On a different night, perhaps Payton was willing to call a trick play on 3rd-&-1 because he viewed it as two-down territory. But the Broncos were in the grip of Murphy's Law on this particular evening, which is why Payton trotted Lutz out for a 58-yard attempt, and why the original play-call was so mystifying to begin with.

Of all the nights to call a trick play, Payton picked the wrong one. The Broncos couldn't even execute the normal offense efficiently; a trick play was supposed to be any different?

The Broncos finished with just 220 total yards of offense on Thursday night. Nix's stat line was a cringey 16-of-28 for 150 yards and one touchdown. He finished with a quarterback rating of 54.2.

The Broncos converted just 33% of their third-down attempts (5-of-15) and went 1-of-3 in the red zone. Payton's offense is normally one of the NFL's best in the red zone, but not on the night of Murphy's Law, when nothing went right.

The Broncos remain the NFL's most-penalized team, earning a whopping 11 vs. the Raiders. That and so much more has to be cleaned up before the Broncos host the Kansas City Chiefs in 10 days.

Silver Lining: Broncos Are 8-2

However, the Broncos are the NFL's only eight-win team. This is the first time since the Super Bowl season of 2015 that Denver has gotten to 8-2.

So, on one hand, you don't want to miss the forest for those very beautiful and rare trees. On the other, the Broncos' 10-7 win over the Raiders was one of the ugliest performances of the Payton era, replete with offensive ineptitude, penalties, turnovers, and special teams gaffes.

“So you’re asking, am I comfortable as a coach? We’re never satisfied," Payton said. "If my answer were to you, ‘I’m comfortable.’ That’d be silly. Right? So obviously, we got to clean up the penalties, we got to clean up some of the execution, and that is an ongoing thing that probably never ends."

It might never be perfect. But even though he shares complicity in the Broncos' offensive woes and penalty epidemic, Payton will nevertheless pursue that mythical, figurative objective.

You search for that Shangri-La. Right now, we’re a team sitting at eight wins. I think we’re the only team sitting there, and yet we’re constantly looking internally and starting," Payton said. "But it was a tough night offensively, obviously. I give them credit. They did some things differently that we hadn’t seen, and you start looking at your call sheet with your sub plan. We’ll look at that tape and learn from it. We always will.”