Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton coaching against the Chiefs. Oct 12, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton runs onto the field against the Kansas City Chiefs prior to a game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

One of the stranger moments in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 19-8 Thursday Night Football victory over the Denver Broncos came near the end of the first half. Trailing 10-0, the Broncos got the ball on their 24-yard-line following a Kansas City punt with less than a minute left. They then picked up 15 yards on a first-down pass, but then went incomplete pass, five-yard pass, sack, leaving them facing 4th and 12 on their 37. And then, with 22 seconds left before the half, Denver head coach Sean Payton called a timeout.

After the timeout, the Broncos did in fact punt. And that led to the Chiefs getting the ball on their 39 with 15 yards left. Patrick Mahomes then completed a six-yard pass, then ran for 13 yards. And Harrison Butker then nailed a 60-yard field goal with four seconds left, extending Kansas City’s lead to 13-0.

While that field goal didn’t ultimately prove to be the decisive points, it did have an impact. And it might not have happened if Payton hadn’t used that timeout. If he hadn’t, that would have forced a Kansas City timeout, and given the Chiefs fewer options when they got the ball back. And after the game, Payton admitted calling the timeout was a “boneheaded” mistake, and said it happened because he lost track of what down it was:

 Payton said he thought it was third down and he wanted to get another offensive play called.

“That’s a boneheaded mistake by me. They were calling one as well and I’m off by a down, but that was stupid,” Payton said.

Thus far, Payton’s hotly-anticipated return to coaching after a year in TV with Fox hasn’t led to particularly great results. Payton came in to the Denver job with a lot of talk, including massive shots at previous coach Nathaniel Hackett (which he said was partly from thinking like a TV analyst). But thus far, that talk hasn’t produced a lot of success; the Broncos are now 1-5, last in the AFC, and they’ve been outscored 200-129 so far this year. And this “boneheaded mistake” will only increase the focus on Payton.

[Pro Football Talk]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.