Sean Payton Explains Critical Decision to Go for Fourth Down Over Kicking FG

Sean Payton didn’t take the points, and it came back to cost the Broncos.

Sean Payton’s decision to go for fourth down over kicking a field goal came back to bite. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Broncos fell just short of a trip to the Super Bowl on Sunday, with one decision coming back to haunt them in their 10-7 loss to the Patriots.

Hosting their first AFC championship game in a decade with Jarrett Stidham at the helm, the Broncos impressively got off to a 7-0 lead after Stidham connected with Marvin Mims on a 52-yard pass. That pass helped Denver reach the Patriots’ six-yard line, and Stidham then cashed in with a six-yard touchdown toss to Courtland Sutton.

The Broncos' defense, which was stellar all afternoon, forced a couple more punts before Denver drove the ball deep into New England territory again early in the second quarter. The Broncos reached the Patriots’ 14-yard line before facing fourth-and-1 and then opted to go for the first down conversion instead of kicking a field goal. They failed to convert, keeping them from going up by two possessions.

Fourth down stop ❌

📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/MbJdIAeduH

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 25, 2026

That decision loomed over Denver when Mile High Stadium became flurried in snow. The Patriots took a 10-7 lead early in the second half, and that field goal proved to be the difference in the game. By the fourth quarter, it was nearly impossible for either team to move the ball much down the field. The Broncos had another last chance at a field goal attempt in the fourth quarter, but it was tipped and failed to go through the uprights.

"I just felt like we had momentum,” head coach Sean Payton explained after the game. “To get up 14 it felt like we had a good call. I was just watching how our defense was playing. The turnover on our end resulting in a touchdown, I’ll look at and critique and pay close attention to, it was a hard fought game and we didn’t do enough to win it.”

Payton later added, “It’s also a call you make based on the team you’re playing and what you’re watching on the other side of the ball. There will always be second thoughts. ... Hindsight the initial sub run thought was a better decision.”

Payton’s thought-process is understandable and shows the belief he’s had in his team since the preseason. The Broncos’ defense did play phenomenally, but in a game that saw Stidham make his first start in two years it would have made sense for the Broncos to play more conservatively and take the points. Even before the snow began hammering down, Stidham losing the football on a backward pass resulted in the Patriots’ lone touchdown of the day. That mistake proved costly, but taking the points would have given Stidham and the Broncos more room for error on a day that was a defensive battle.

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