The Denver Broncos came up short against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night, blowing a great opportunity to finally end their long playoff drought.
But it should have never happened. The Broncos were rolling in the first half, up 21-10, and looking like they might blow the Chargers out. Just before halftime, things went awry. The biggest reason for the Broncos' loss was several self-inflicted wounds that led to terrible penalties, but there are two areas of this game where Sean Payton owes a good explanation.
This was a winnable game. The Chargers played well, but the Broncos beat themselves just as much as the Chargers beat them. Here are two strong examples of that.
Sean Payton mismanaged end of first half, then went away from the run
The Broncos were able to create the game's only turnover just before halftime. Justin Herbert threw a pass intended for Joshua Palmer in the end zone but Denver rookie cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine picked it off. It was just Herbert's third interception thrown this season.
The rookie Kris Abrams-Draine picks off Herbert in the end zone!#DENvsLAC on Prime Video
— NFL (@NFL) December 20, 2024
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/td0iVzozRg
But the Broncos may have gotten greedy.
Leading by 11 points with 41 seconds left in the first half, Abrams-Draine returned the ball to the Chargers' 18-yard line. On first down, Bo Nix completed a pass to Javonte Williams that lost three yards. On the next play, Nix threw an incompletion.
Suddenly it's 3rd-and-13 with 13 seconds left until halftime and the Broncos handed the ball to Williams. After he gained just one yard, Jim Harbaugh called a timeout with eight seconds left. This was bad clock management by the Broncos but a heads-up move by Harbaugh.
Riley Dixon came out to punt and on the return, Derius Davis signaled for a fair catch. Tremon Smith bumped Davis and though Davis put forth a bit of a sell job, a flag was thrown for fair catch interference. After a 15-yard penalty, the Chargers were able to pull off the first successful fair catch free kick since 1976.
A rare fair catch free kick results in a Cameron Dicker 57-yard FG for the @Chargers 🤯
— NFL (@NFL) December 20, 2024
It's the first free kick FG since 1976! pic.twitter.com/yb0cyPuKnR
That play was huge because not only did it get the Chargers within eight points at halftime, it completely shifted momentum in the Chargers' favor.
Where did the run game go?
The Broncos have struggled to run the ball this season, but they had it working in the first half of this game with rookie Audric Estime. Despite having a lead in the second half, Payton chose to go away from the run, for whatever reason.
Payton called just seven run plays after halftime while having Nix drop back to pass on 20 other snaps. It was a strange balance and it led to the Broncos going away from what gave them a 21-10 lead at one point in the game.
It wasn't egregiously bad play-calling from Payton, but he definitely should have mixed Estime in more after the first half he had, particularly with the Chargers slowly stealing momentum in the second half.
This was a difficult loss to stomach, not because the Broncos took a severe beating in Los Angeles, but because they completely let one slip away that they had well within their grasp.
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