Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton inexplicably called a timeout after a third-down sack with 22 seconds left in the first half of Thursday night's 19-8 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
After the defeat, Payton admitted his brain fart, saying he thought it was third down.
"That's a boneheaded mistake by me," he said via the team's official transcript. "They were calling one as well. I'm off a down. That was stupid."
The move was so horrendously baffling that many thought the referees announced the wrong team, and the Chiefs called the timeout. Surely, it couldn't have been Denver, logic suggested. It wasn't until after the game that Payton confirmed his error.
With three timeouts left, Andy Reid could have called his own stoppage, and things might have played out the exact same way, with Harrison Butker nailing a 60-yard field goal.
But Payton's error is emblematic of the ills breathing in Denver. The Super Bowl-winning coach was brought in to fix the ailments. Instead, sickness continues to spread.
"It's a three-point swing there, but there are so many other things that jump into my mind relative to opportunities missed," Payton said of the end of the half. "I was encouraged, I thought they played hard. 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.'"
On a night Vance Joseph's defense -- which has been carved like a sculpting cake this season -- actually did some good things, the offense couldn't get the passing game going, with Denver getting outgained 380-197 and going 4-of-10 on third downs.
Russell Wilson got no help from his receivers, who continue to struggle to gain any separation in man-coverage, but made his own share of mistakes, tossing two interceptions on 13-of-22 passing for a woeful 95 yards with a TD. His 46.6 passer rating is the worst in a start since he joined Denver. He was particularly terrible against Steve Spagnuolo's blitzes, generating just 13 total yards and a 2.89 passer rating against the blitz on Thursday.
"I think our defense played great tonight," Wilson said. "They battled all night. They came up with a pick, almost had two. They did a really good job keeping us in the game. I think offensively, we did some really good things. The two turnovers by me is unacceptable, that can't happen."
The 1-5 start to the season is the worst start for Denver since 1994 (finished 7-9). It's also the worst start to a season in Payton's career as a head coach.
