As if the Denver Broncos’ odds against the Kansas City Chiefs weren’t stacked enough. Broncos head coach Sean Payton made a costly error in the final seconds of the first half in the Thursday Night Football divisional battle between the Broncos and Chiefs that allowed the Chiefs to score points before the end of the half.
Payton seemed to not be aware of what down it was on the field given the fact that he called a timeout after quarterback Russell Wilson took a sack on third-and-five that forced the Broncos to punt. While Payton admitted to making a “boneheaded mistake” after the game, it didn’t change the fact that it saved the Chiefs a timeout and gave them 22 seconds to set up kicker Harrison Butker for what was a 60-yard field goal.
Butker nailed the field goal, which gave the Chiefs a 13-0 lead going into halftime. Payton’s lack of awareness and poor decision-making illustrates how the Broncos season has gone thus far through the first six weeks of the 2023 NFL season.
After losing 19-8 to the Cheifs, the Broncos now have a 1-5 record, which gives them the worst record in the AFC. Payton’s first year as coach of the Broncos hasn’t gone as planned after he was given a lucrative contract that made him the second-highest-paid coach in all of American sports to leave the broadcasting booth and revitalize a Broncos franchise in need of guidance.
