Broncos' Sean Payton regrets 4th-down call in loss to Patriots - ESPN

DENVER — So much promise, so many hopes and the biggest of football dreams eluded the Denver Broncos on Sunday, coach Sean Payton said, because the offense didn't do enough when it had momentum before the snow rolled in off the Rocky Mountains.

Payton said he will find several «regrets'' when he looks at it all again, most notably when he passed up points in the second quarter, as the Broncos dropped passes and the run game fizzled in a 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game in Empower Field at Mile High.

»[I'm] hurting for every one of those players in that locker room,'' Payton said. «There'll be a number of things when we watch the tape and I'll look at and critique and pay close attention to.… It was a hard-fought game, and we didn't do enough to win it.''

The Broncos, who had their biggest play — a 52-yard pass from Jarrett Stidham to Marvin Mims Jr. — on their second possession, their only scoring drive, had just 32 net yards of offense in the second half to go with one first down.

Kicker Wil Lutz missed a field goal attempt, and the potential game-tying kick with just under five minutes left was blocked, as the Broncos didn't have a play longer than 12 yards after Mims' first-quarter catch.

»We didn't score enough points and capitalize on that field position,'' Payton said. «Starts with the head coach and rest of our staff.''

Payton said he will „always'' have second thoughts about a decision to go for a fourth-and-1 conversion with 9 minutes, 28 seconds left in the second quarter, especially after the snow arrived at halftime and only increased in intensity as the game progressed.

The Broncos led 7-0 and the Patriots at that point had not had a drive go longer than 11 yards. Payton