Up by two scores with fewer than five minutes remaining, the Denver Broncos probably should've run a few safe, clock-killing plays to salt away their decisive 30-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals. In the heat of the moment, head coach Sean Payton lost sight of the bigger picture with a silly first-down reverse call and needlessly injured his best receiver, Jaylen Waddle, in the process.
To Payton's (bare minimum) credit, he recognized that he got carried away on a sequence that should've been forgettable for the 5-2 Broncos. During his postgame press conference, Payton got ahead of any expected lines of questioning regarding Waddle's injury and the "dumb reverse call." He took it upon himself to apologize for getting too cute and overthinking
a meaningless end-of-game possession.
Payton said his thought process came from "falling in love" with a play as an offensive guru, but it took him until after the fact to realize that was not the time for the call. Welp. You live and you learn, I guess:
#Broncos HC Sean Payton was shocked no one asked him about calling a reverse for Jaylen Waddle on the play he was injured:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 26, 2026
"IT WAS AWFUL. I'M SORRY." pic.twitter.com/ZnC1DoHkJx
Well, at least Payton is the kind of leader who recognizes when he makes needless, self-inflicted mistakes with his players. The bad news for Payton is that Waddle probably got hurt at the wrong time. The AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs are set to visit Denver next Sunday in a game that will assuredly have massive playoff implications. The Broncos are calling Waddle's injury a chest injury for the time being.
Here's hoping, for Payton's sake, that it's nothing too serious that will leave him and the Broncos with lingering regret.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Sean Payton preemptively takes blame for play that injured Jaylen Waddle
