Broncos Coach Sean Payton Owns 'Boneheaded Mistake' in Loss vs. Chiefs

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton called a timeout late in the second quarter of Thursday's 19-8 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs, a "boneheaded mistake."

Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson got sacked on third-and-5 with the ball on the Denver 44-yard line. There were 22 seconds left in the half, and the ball was on the Broncos 37-yard line after the seven-yard loss.

Basic football knowledge would tell Payton, a Super Bowl-winning coach with one of the most significant coaching contracts in the National Football League (NFL), to let the clock run down and punt it away. He, instead, called a timeout that ended up costing his team three points.

Payton told reporters after the game that he believed it was third down and called the timeout to get another opportunity for a first down.

"That's a boneheaded mistake by me," Payton said. "They were calling one as well. I'm off a down. That was stupid."

Chiefs coach Andy Reid would've had a reason to call a timeout, with reigning league MVP Patrick Mahomes at quarterback and kicker Harrison Butker's ability to nail deep kicks, even a few seconds can turn into points.

Of course, the three point swing wasn't all on Payton. The Broncos had a 5-yard penalty on Riley Dixon's 29-yard punt. The short punt and the infraction gave Mahomes and the Chief offense the ball at their 39-yard line with 15 seconds left.

The Chiefs got 19 yards in two plays before Butker's 60-yard field goal sailed through the uprights, giving Kansas City a 13-0 halftime advantage.

"That's a three-point swing there," Payton said. "But there are so many of these other things that jump into my mind relative to opportunities missed."

The loss drops the Broncos to 1-5, the worst start for the team since the 1994 season when the team finished with a 7-9 record. It's also the worst start to a season during Payton's head coaching career.

Despite the loss on a night when Wilson threw two interceptions and had only 95 passing yards on 13-22 passing, Payton tried to find the silver lining in the dark clouds of a rough start.

"I was encouraged; I thought they played hard," Payton said. "We'll see this team in two weeks. That's kind of what I told them afterwards; I said, 'You can be disappointed here, but don't get discouraged.'"

The Broncos next game will be on October 22 against the Green Bay Packers. The following week the Broncos will host the defending Super Bowl champs in a rematch.