Broncos head coach Sean Payton had no issue with the officiating call that helped send his team to a loss on Sunday, but he does have thoughts on the play call that the Broncos made on that play.
Linebacker Dondrea Tillman was flagged for leverage on a 60-yard, game-winning field goal attempt that Colts kicker Spencer Shrader missed and the 15-yard penalty moved him close enough to make the second try. Payton said on Monday that the team ran the field goal block they have installed for end of game situations and wishes he had called it off given the length of the kick.
“We had a certain field goal block in the event of a game-ending field goal . . .But that’s on me in that situation,” Payton said, via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. “It’s not on [special teams coach Darren Rizzi], it’s not on Tillman. A 60-yard field goal attempt is different . . . The alignment got wrong and the [officials’] call was correct.”
Payton’s alignment reference was to Tillman and defensive tackle Eyioma Uwazurike swapping spots on the line, but added that the team’s failure to call a “normal interior rush” was the biggest reason for what went wrong at the end of the 29-28 loss.
Though the Broncos had every chance to beat the Colts on Sunday, the club instead headed home to Denver 1-1 after Spencer Shrader kicked a game-winning, 45-yard field goal through the uprights on an untimed down.
Indianapolis had decided to settle for a long field goal after reaching Denver territory with under two minutes on the clock. Plus, the Broncos had used all their timeouts.
But when Jonathan Taylor was stuffed for a 2-yard loss on third-and-7 from the Denver 40, it left the Colts with a 60-yard field goal attempt.
Even in controlled conditions like those of Lucas Oil Stadium, that’s a mighty long kick, and making it is improbable. And that is part of why the leverage penalty called on Denver in that situation is fairly inexplicable.
“Let me start by saying, obviously, a disappointing loss,” head coach Sean Payton said in his postgame press conference. “We did a lot of things late in that game to keep us from winning. It’ll be painful to watch that film. And yet, we’ll get the corrections made. So, starts with me, our staff. But we had a number of opportunities to not be in that position late, and unfortunately, we shot ourselves in the foot too many times.”
The leverage penalty was one of a series of mistakes in the fourth quarter by Denver that kept the club from being 2-0. After J.K. Dobbins showed some burst on a 23-yard carry down to the Indianapolis 20, he received a delay of game penalty for spiking the ball. Then a facemask penalty backed Denver up 15 yards, stalling the drive. And finally, kicker Wil Lutz banged a 42-yard field goal off the right upright to keep the score at 28-26.
Plus, on the Broncos’ previous drive, quarterback Bo Nix tossed an interception to Cam Bynum deep in Indianapolis territory to keep points off the board.
“[L]ook, we’ve got to be smart,” Payton said. “You can’t spike the ball and then we’ve got to capitalize on our field goal opportunity.
“There will be a bitter taste in our mouth for a little bit, and it’s because we put ourselves in a position to control that game late, and then it slipped out of our hands. So, it’s hard.”
At 1-1, the Broncos will be on the road again to face the Chargers in Week 4.
The Colts missed a 60-yard field goal attempt as time expired on Sunday against the Broncos, and for a moment the Broncos celebrated a 28-26 win. But the officials called a rare 15-yard leverage penalty on the Broncos, giving the Colts another chance. This time the 45-yard field goal was good, and the Colts won 29-28.
The Broncos weren’t happy about it, but referee Craig Wrolstad says it was the right call.
“For leverage, as a defender, you’re not allowed to place your hand on an opponent or a teammate and push off to propel yourself into the air to block a kick,” Wrolstad said, via the pool report. “In this case number 92 [Dondrea Tillman] came across the line to the right guard and he put his hands on the right guard and pushed off him to elevate himself in the air in order to try to block the kick. You’re not allowed to do that. It is a personal foul and a 15-yard penalty. In this case since it was the last play of the game and it was a foul on the defense, we extended the game for one untimed down. We assessed the 15-yard penalty, and they were able to run another play.”
It’s a penalty that often goes uncalled in the NFL, but by the letter of the rule it was the correct call. And it was the call that changed the game.
You never know what the end of an NFL game will bring.
The Colts beat the Broncos 29-28 in improbable fashion on Sunday on an untimed down with Spencer Shrader’s 45-yard field goal.
Shrader’s 45-yard kick came after he missed a game-winning, 60-yard attempt wide right. But a leverage penalty on the Broncos kept the Colts alive for one final play — a field goal attempt 15 yards further up the field.
That was Denver’s eighth penalty of the game, and it was plenty costly.
The Broncos had already made some critical errors in the contest. Bo Nix threw an interception early in the fourth with the Broncos up 28-23, taking points off the board that may have been able to put the game out of reach.
Then with the score 28-26, Denver had an offensive facemask penalty that made it first-and-25 at the Indianapolis 40. Wil Lutz banged a 42-yard field goal off the right upright, giving the Colts the opportunity to win it at the end.
Indianapolis wasn’t aggressive toward the end of the game, running the clock down before attempting the 60-yard field goal. But with Denver’s mistakes, Shrader’s long miss didn’t matter.
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor rushed for 165 yards and had two receptions for 43 yards — including a 7-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.
Daniel Jones had another strong performance, finishing 23-of-34 for 316 yards with a touchdown. Tyler Warren led with four catches for 79 yards. Alec Pierce also had four catches for 68 yards.
On the other side, Nix finished 22-of-30 for 206 yards with three touchdowns and a pick. J.K. Dobbins had 76 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown. Troy Franklin caught eight passes for 89 yards.
Now at 2-0, the Colts will be on the road to face the division-rival Titans in Week 3.
The 1-1 Broncos will be in Southern California to face the division-rival Chargers.
The Broncos have extended their lead to start the second half.
J.K. Dobbins put in a 5-yard touchdown run to give Denver a 28-20 advantage over Indianapolis.
The Broncos faced just one third down on the first possession of the second half, which quarterback Bo Nix converted with an 18-yard scramble down to the Indianapolis 36.
Nix completed all four of his passes on the possession, helping the Broncos score in just seven plays while taking 3:47 off the clock.
Nix is now 18-of-22 for 151 yards with three touchdowns. Receiver Troy Franklin leads with seven catches for 74 yards with a touchdown. Dobbins has nine carries for 44 yards.
