«I just felt like we had momentum to get up 14,» Payton said. «It felt like we had a good call.»<\/b>
\n«I just felt like we had momentum to get up 14», Payton said. «It felt like we had a good call.»
Sean Payton said the Broncos\u2019 loss in the AFC Championship game starts with the head coach himself.
Payton made a decision in the second quarter that was, in hindsight, quite helpful for the Patriots. New England was struggling to move the ball, and Denver had jumped out to an early 7-0 lead.
The Broncos had the ball in a 4th-and-1 on the New England 14-yard line. Instead of kicking a field-goal and potentially going up 10 points, Denver aggressively tried to go for it on fourth down and the Patriots got the stop. Rookie safety Craig Woodson broke up Jarrett Stidham\u2019s passing attempt.
\u201cI just felt like we had momentum to get up 14,\u201d Payton said after the game. \u201cIt felt like we had a good call.
\u201cI think the feeling was, \u2018Let\u2019s be aggressive.\u2019 To get up 14, I was just watching the way our defense was playing and the turnover on our end resulting in a touchdown, outside of that, I thought we did a good job in containing them. There will be a number of things when we watch the tape I\u2019ll have to look at and critique and pay attention to, but it was a hard-fought game and we didn\u2019t do enough to win it.\u201d
Payton said Denver had success running the play they picked in the past, and felt comfortable going for it.
\u201cWell, we ended up in a 6-1 front, they ended up playing like a heavy 6-1,\u201d Payton said. \u201cThere actually was a clock stoppage, so we had a nickel run called, and then, I don\u2019t know if there was a timeout or they called one, but it\u2019s a slipper naked [play] that we\u2019ve run pretty well. They played a kind of a 6-1 front with a two-deep shell, so in hindsight, the initial sub run look was a better decision.\u201d
The move backfired, and New England held Denver scoreless for the rest of the game.
\u201cIt\u2019s also a call you make based on what you\u2019re watching and the team that is on the other side of the ball,\u201d Payton said. \u201cSo, there will always be second-thoughts.\u201d
The snowy weather conditions made it difficult to move the ball late in the game as the Patriots hung on for a 10-7 win. Leonard Taylor blocked a potential game-tying kick, and Christian Gonzalez grabbed a clutch interception late in the fourth quarter.
\u201cTip our hats to New England. It was a hard-fought game, I thought, defensively,\u201d Payton said. \u201cYou don\u2019t know that it\u2019s going to be like this three-point game. That\u2019s tough, especially in this game.\u201d
Sunday marked the first time the Patriots ever beat the Broncos in Denver during the playoffs. It was a disappointing loss given the way that things unfolded, Payton said.
\u201cYou hurt for every one of those players in that locker room,\u201d Payton said. \u201cYou don\u2019t know how a game is going to unfold, and then how it began to unfold. I felt like most of the first half, we played on their side of the field. We didn\u2019t score enough points offensively or capitalize on that field position.\u201d
\u201cThe turnovers hurt us and we had our opportunities, but it starts with the head coach and the rest of our staff.\u201d<\/p>\n