In a game in which points were come by, Sean Payton’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 in the second quarter backfired for the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game.
With the Broncos leading New England, 7-0, and 9:28 to go in the first half, Payton — with backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham filling in for the injured Bo Nix — and the ball on the New England 14-yard line, opted to go for a first down instead of a relatively short field goal.
To make matters worse, instead of calling a run play to pick up the first down, the Broncos rolled Stidham out as he tried to complete a short pass to RJ Harvey.
The Patriots defense wasn’t fooled, as Stidham’s pass had no chance and was nearly intercepted by Craig Woodson.
The Broncos turned the ball over on downs and New England took over.
The Patriots tied the game with 2:10 left in the half and New England took the lead early in the third quarter, 10-7, with a field goal.
Stidham was starting his first game since 2023 due to Nix suffering a broken ankle in overtime last week in Denver’s win over Buffalo in the divisional round.
Stidham got off to a relatively good start on Sunday, as he hit Marvin Mims Jr. for a 52-yard pass to help set up a six-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton that gave Denver a lead early in the first quarter.