After kicking a field goal and making it 13-6 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton opted to kick it deep despite only having one timeout left and being past the two-minute warning.
After an eventual 13-6 loss, Payton was asked why he did not opt to attempt an onside kick instead.
“We spent a lot of time going through it back and forth,” Payton said. “We had plenty of time to discuss it, there was a player down. The long run on third down prior to them punting took about six seconds.
“We were hopeful to have two or three plays before we went to the end. It was just weighing the odds versus recovering an onside kick or getting the ball back with 26 seconds. We chose to kick off.”
The Steelers ended up punting with 18 seconds left and Denver had nine seconds left after Marvin Mims’ return. After one play took eight seconds, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix threw an interception on the final play of the game, sealing a loss.
Payton was also asked about his decision earlier in the fourth quarter to kick a field goal to cut the deficit to 13-3 instead of attempting to convert on 4th-and-6 at Pittsburgh’s 16-yard line. Had Denver failed to pick up the fourth down, the team would have needed two possessions to tie or take the lead. After kicking a field goal, the Broncos still needed two possessions. So why kick it?
“Time-wise, we felt like we were still in a good position, looking at the clock,” Payton said of the decision.
In a game that was ultimately decided by six points, Payton’s decisions are certainly deserving of scrutiny.
