Sean Payton’s decisions during Sunday’s AFC championship game between his Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots disappointed plenty of fans around the NFL world. The former New Orleans Saints coach led the Broncos to their first conference championship game in 10 years, but things didn’t go as expected.
After losing the ball on downs in the second quarter (when they could have kicked a field goal), many fans called out Payton. His play-calling was put under scrutiny, as fans thought he made several mistakes that led to the 10-7 loss.
“Payton’s arrogance comes back to bite him. Kick the FG, you’re up 2 scores and in control. SMDH,” one fan said.
“Payton not taking the points in the second quarter is what lost the game but no one gonna talk about that,” another fan said.
“Payton’s Arrogance kept him from going up 10-0 because he wanted to showcase Stidham now he in 7-7 Dogfight with a QB that’s making Dumb Ass Decisions,” another fan noted.
The criticism continued, as more fans blamed Payton for the loss.
“Sean Payton committed coaching malpractice in the first half. Tough,” one fan said.
“Sean not taking the points early on was coaching malpractice,” another fan said.
“Sean Payton is the reason we lost this game. Vance, Bo and the defense could only bail him out so many times before he finally lost it for us. Unbelievably bad HC. Fire him and go offer Joe Brady a blank check. Absolutely diabolical coaching malpractice,” another fan noted.
While addressing reporters, Payton explained he felt the team was in a good position to score six points rather than settling for three.
“I just felt like we had momentum,” Payton said. “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.”
Those three points proved crucial at the end of the game. The Broncos could have at least forced overtime if they kicked it.
Overall, Sean Payton’s decisions during the AFC championship game drew criticism from fans and ultimately led to the Broncos’ loss. Despite defending his choice to go for the touchdown instead of the field goal, many believe that his arrogance and questionable game management cost the team the game. As the Broncos look ahead, they may need to reassess their strategies and decisions in future games to avoid similar outcomes.
