Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton was second-guessing himself on Monday regarding a key decision he made in Saturday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Payton elected to kick the extra point to force overtime against the Bengals at the end of regulation instead of trying to go for two and the win. Payton wound up kicking to tie the game at 24, and that decision was questioned by some after the Broncos wound up losing in overtime 30-24. Denver could have clinched a playoff spot had they won the game.
Payton admitted that he had second thoughts about that move, though he insisted that was not unusual for him on key decisions like that.
“Oh certainly,” Payton said, via Mike Klis of 9News. “You go through it all the time relative to what the call would have been. Based on the outcome, you always second guess or always do that as a head coach. I trusted my gut at the moment. But, yeah, I think it’s normal to do that.”
This decision is one that every coach has to deal with. The Bengals did so earlier in the season and did the opposite of Payton, and in that case, it did not work out for them.
The Broncos can still make the playoffs by beating a Kansas City Chiefs team that will be resting its starters in Week 18. If they cannot get it done, Payton may be second-guessing the move even more. On the other hand, Payton may not have even had the chance to make that call had his Bengals counterpart done things differently late in the game.
