Sean Payton has second thoughts about passing up easy field goal in Broncos' AFC title game loss

DENVER (AP) — Sean Payton conceded he will have second thoughts about his decision to pass up an easy field goal, as well as the play he called instead.

The Denver Broncos and their fans now have the entire offseason to argue over which part of that critical fourth-and-1 play was worse.

Because Payton decided not to kick a chip-shot field goal for a 10-0 lead in good weather in the first half of Sunday's AFC championship game against the New England Patriots, the Broncos ended up needing to make a kick once the blowing snow and wind rolled in after halftime. The decision played an integral role in Denver's 10-7 loss.

“There’s always regrets,” Payton said. “I felt like here were are, fourth-and-1, close enough — 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. Yeah, there will always be second thoughts.”

That fateful move put the Broncos on a slippery slope that would’ve challenged any quarterback — to say nothing of perennial backup Jarrett Stidham.

Everyone from Bill Cowher on the pregame show to Tony Romo in the broadcast booth was talking about the importance of the Broncos taking every point they could with Stidham stepping in for the injured Bo Nix, but Payton didn’t heed that advice.

Wil Lutz missed two field goals (one was blocked) on a day Denver's defense gave up one touchdown. And that score was set up when Stidham turned the ball over deep in New England territory.

Had Denver not given away three points, it may have been able to overcome those mistakes.

“There will be a number of things when we watch the tape I will look at and critique and pay close attention to,” Payton said. “It was a hard-fought game, and we didn’t do enough to win.”

Early in the second quarter — and with the skies still clear — the Broncos led 7-0 and faced fourth-and-1 at the New England 14. Denver called timeout to discuss its options. The offense returned to the field and Stidham's pass to RJ Harvey fell incomplete.

“Just didn’t work out on that one play,” said Stidham, who threw for 133 yards and a score, along with a fourth-quarter interception that sealed the win for the Patriots. “That’s just football.”

Late in the game, trailing 10-7, Payton sent Lutz out to try a 45-yard kick into a tricky wind and on a snow-covered field. Leonard Taylor III got a hand on the kick.

“Unfortunately, you couldn’t see the lines on the field and honestly I think we might have been a yard short on the snap,” Lutz said. “But you can’t see the lines on the field and we had to kind of estimate.”

The Broncos were right there, too. Only three teams have won a game to advance to the Super Bowl while scoring 10 points or fewer — and the Broncos were on the wrong end in two of them. They also lost 10-7 to the Buffalo Bills in the 1991 AFC title game, with backup quarterback Gary Kubiak replacing the injured John Elway.

This time, Stidham started in place of Nix, who broke his ankle in a 33-30 overtime win against Buffalo last week, and began in stellar fashion. He had a 52-yard completion to Marvin Mims Jr. that set up a short TD pass to Courtland Sutton.

Denver was rolling — until New England's fourth-down stop.

Late in the second quarter, the Patriots took advantage of Stidham's first turnover. Under pressure from Christian Elliss, he tried to toss the ball away but it was ruled a backward pass, which was recovered by Elijah Ponder. Two plays later, Drake Maye sauntered into the end zone.

“Obviously, I can't put our team in a bad position like that,” Stidham said. “That was completely on me.”

The play was initially ruled an incomplete pass and intentional grounding, but officials changed the call. Stidham did not realize he'd thrown a lateral.

“No, I thought I'd thrown it forward,” he said.

Explained referee Alex Kemp in a pool report: “I initially ruled it as a forward pass, which was incorrect. I proceeded to go through the administration of an intentional grounding foul. The down judge and the umpire came and talked to me and provided more information. The down judge explained that he extended his right arm to signal that he had a backward pass and at that point we determined that New England had picked up the then backward pass.”

Stidham conceded that he “should’ve just eaten the sack anyway,” adding, “I can’t do that.”

With the snow picking up and the wind at their back, the Patriots went on a 16-play drive to start the third quarter that ended with Andy Borregales' go-ahead, 23-yard field goal. That was the final score by either team in the deteriorating conditions.

“I was dealing with it. Drake was dealing with it,” Stidham said of the snow and wind. “You can't really make an excuse of it.”

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

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel meet after the AFC Championship NFL football game between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham leaves the field after the AFC Championship NFL football game between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham (8) runs against the New England Patriots during the second half of the AFC Championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton speaks during a news conference after the AFC Championship NFL football game between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Garrett W. Ellwood)

Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz (3) misses a field goal attempt against the New England Patriots during the second half of the AFC Championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — New year, same Scottie Scheffler.

The world's No. 1 player loves coming to the California desert early in the season to take stock of his game and get into tournament shape. There's wasn't much wrong Sunday in The American Express.

Scheffler made birdie on half of his holes, going from a two-shot deficit early to a lead that stretched to six shots late before he closed with a 6-under 66 for a four-shot victory.

“There's always a certain amount of rust when it comes to playing competitive golf,” Scheffler said. “You can simulate as best you can at home, but you can only get into the heat of the moment when you’re posting a score and you’re in contention when you’re at a tournament. So it’s nice to see some of the stuff that I’ve been being practicing and working on has paid off.”

He had four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the front nine to blow past 18-year-old Blades Brown and everyone and the rest of the field.

Scheffler won for the 20th time on the PGA Tour — all in the last four years — to earn a lifetime membership. More indicative of his dominance in the game is winning nine of those 20 tournaments by four shots or more.

He also joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to have 20 PGA Tour titles and four majors before turning 30.

“Pretty wild,” Scheffler said. “It's been a great start to my career. It's been special. I try not to think about that stuff too much. I was just trying to do the things I needed to do to be prepared.”

The world's No. 1 player briefly shared the stage with Brown, who finished high school two weeks ago and tied for 17th in a Korn Ferry Tour event in the Bahamas that finished Wednesday. He's the first player to play eight straight days of PGA Tour-sanctioned competition.

Whether the fatigue caught up with him or simply the moment — he was trying to become the youngest PGA Tour winner in 95 years — it ended quickly.

Brown was one shot behind 54-hole leader Si Woo Kim and one shot ahead of Scheffler heading to the tee at the par-3 fourth on the Stadium Course at PGA West. Five holes later, Brown and Kim both were five shots behind and Scheffler was putting it into overdrive.

“Eight rounds I know sounds like a lot, but I was having a lot of fun,” he said. “You’re telling me I get to play in a PGA Tour event and to play with Scottie Scheffler and see him win it, that was insane.

“I got some things I got to sharpen up, and hopefully we see if we can do what Scottie’s doing.”

It all looked so routine at the end. Scheffler rapped in a par putt to finish at 27-under 261, stuffed the golf ball in his pocket and smiled. It all looks so routine.

“It seems like he never wants to relax,” said Jason Day, one of four players who won the B flight by finishing second. “He always does his work, needs to do whatever he needs to do to be able to prepare, and he’s always around the lead. And that’s a very, very difficult thing to do with how much distractions there can be, especially at No. 1.”

Scheffler seized control quickly after a birdie-bogey start. He hit 8-iron to 2 feet on the par-3 fourth hole, played the par-5 fifth smartly with a shot away from the water and a pitch-and-run he nearly holed from across the green for birdie. Wedges led to two more birdies to close out the front, two more early on the back to lead by four.

Brown's chances seemed to end on one hole. He took an aggressive line and pulled his tee shot into the water on the par-5 fifth. He had to drop in front of the tee boxes — he chose to drop in the dormant Bermuda rough instead of the teeing ground — and then hit a poor wedge when he got back into position that led to double bogey.

Brown went 11 holes without a birdie and had to late bogeys that led to a 74. He fell from a tie for second to a tie for 18th, costing him a spot at Torrey Pines next week.

But it was a good lesson alongside a great teacher.

“I would say one of the coolest things that I learned today was how underrated Scottie Scheffler’s short game is,” Brown said. “To see it in person and just to look at kind of the trajectory and the spin, and just the control that he has with his wedges and short game. Obviously, his putting is insane, too. It was really cool to watch. So I’m definitely going to go work on that.”

Day closed with a 64 that moved him up 18 spots to a runner-up finish, along with Ryan Gerard (65), Matt McCarty (68) and Andrew Putnam (68).

Kim, who plays often with Scheffler at Royal Oaks in Dallas, also lost his way on one hole. He was two shots behind on the par-5 eighth when he took two shots to get out of a greenside bunker, chipped strong and made double bogey. He missed a 3-foot par putt on the next hole. Kim rallied with three birdies on the back nine to salvage a 72 and tie for sixth.

Scheffler's only big blunder was when it didn't matter, a tee shot into the water on the par-3 17th known as “Alcatraz,” and by then he had plenty of get-of-jail-free cards. His double bogey only kept the margin from being greater against the strongest field The American Express has had in decades.

Scheffler now takes a week off before ending the West Coast with three straight events, starting with the Phoenix Open where this amazing run began four years ago. He won his first PGA Tour title in a playoff. It hasn't been that close lately.

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

After winning the American Express golf event, Scottie Scheffler, center, celebrates with son Bennett, right, and wife Meredith Scudder-Scheffler, left, on the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in La Quinta, Calif. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Scottie Scheffler smiles after winning the American Express golf event on the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in La Quinta, Calif. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Blades Brown hits out of a bunker at the 8th hole during the final round of the American Express golf event on the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in La Quinta, Calif. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Scottie Scheffler hits his ball out of the rough on the ninth hole during the final round of the American Express golf event on the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in La Quinta, Calif. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot at the fifth hole during the final round of the American Express golf event on the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in La Quinta, Calif. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)