Dreams are delicate, fleeting. The AFC Championship Game trophy was returning to Denver. The coach’s Hall of Fame resume had a LinkedIn update that no one could refute. Then Sean Payton tried to put his hands on the Patriots’ throat, and he got grabbed by ghosts. On fourth-and-1 in the second qu arter, he went to Jarrett. And just like that, there is no Disney ending, no Super Bowl, no ring. It wasn’t over then. But it’s over now. Patriots 10, Broncos 7. The coach has to wear this. Broncos Country, which flung its support and social media avatars behind Jarrett Stidham, must wait another year for Denver to return to its throne atop the NFL. Keeler: If Bo Nix plays in AFC Championship, Broncos don’t just beat Patriots — they destroy them This opportunity, the first in a decade, died on a refrigerated Sunday, the charmed life in a snow globe melting away one win shy of Payton's preseason prediction of reaching the sport's biggest game. The Broncos coach had the Patriots vulnerable and held a personal second Super Bowl berth in his hands. Denver stood over the ball at the 14-yard line with 9:28 left in the half. One lousy yard stood between the Broncos and the continuation of a drive that offered a knockout punch. Payton could not help himself. He had an automatic three points on a 32-yard field goal — Wil Lutz was 11-for-11 on kicks between 30 and 39 yards this season, and the weather was not a factor at this point. Or an opportunity at a bigger jackpot. He called a timeout. And decided to put the ball in Stidham's right hand, overriding his original run call. It backfired. Stidham sprinted to his right. Left guard Ben Powers and center Luke Wattenberg executed a duo block. That allowed defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy to race for Stidham just as Milton Williams ran free on the right side. Stidham fired a panicked dart at RJ Harvey's feet for an incompletion. Goodbye momentum. The game, unbeknownst to all but 200 no-shows who used their tickets, was over. Not instantly. But eventually. And painfully. Broncos’ season lost in whiteout one game short of Super Bowl: ‘It’s going to hurt for a long time’ "It was a slip or naked (bootleg) that we have run pretty well. They played a 6-1 front with a two-deep shell. Hindsight, the initial run thought was a better decision," Payton said. "There's always regrets. Look, I felt like here we are fourth-and-1. I felt close enough. Also, it's a call you make based on the team you are playing and what you are watching on the other side of the ball. But, there will always be second thoughts." Payton addressed the decision multiple times and offered, "Obviously, disappointment. It starts with the head coach." That was the best call he made Sunday. After another postseason loss that drips Ragu on a career resume worthy of Canton, Payton's accountability was admirable. But it does not change the fact that he tapped the table behind his cards with an 18 and the blackjack dealer flipped a king. "I think, you live and die by who you are. And you’ve made those calls all year," tight end Evan Engram said. "So, today, we died by it.” This call will take Payton to a dark place when he rewatches the game. Had the Broncos opted for the field goal, left the Patriots' sputtering offense chasing, it is almost impossible to not see Denver winning. Full transparency, I liked Payton's aggression, but hated the play selection. It was too slow to develop with limited escape options. The Broncos talked all week about how they would not lose because of Stidham. It was up to the rest of the team to do its job. So, why put Stidham in that position? Remember, the Broncos had converted only 10 of 20 fourth downs during the season, ranking in the NFL's bottom third. Again, why do it? The defense is the simple answer. The problem is that it offered an argument for both scenarios. The popular thought, based on my flooded email box, was that he should have taken the points. A two-score lead would have felt larger given how Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was playing. He finished with five sacks and made passing a kidney stone look easier than passing the football (10 for 21, 86 yards). The aggressive thinking, one adopted by Payton, envisioned a 14-0 cushion as the equivalent of Steve Austin's "Stone Cold" finisher. Given the final score, Payton’s gut was right. But the failure to convert changed everything. The Broncos became climbers who looked down. The reality of the challenge — beating the Patriots without fourth-quarter magician Bo Nix and starting running back J.K. Dobbins — clobbered them over the head. The Broncos posted four first downs after the fourth-down play. They had 32 yards of offense in the second half. "You can play the what-if game all day," said receiver Courtland Sutton, who had three catches for 17 yards. "There were certain things that may not have connected the way we needed them to." The headline, including this one, will punish Payton for going for the bold. He is paid to weigh risk versus reward, and must live with the consequences of his decision. It goes back to Payton's DNA. How he is wired. The Broncos don't sniff this game without his bravado, belief, and culture. But those same traits make Payton think he is smarter than everyone else. When he reaches the top — this season ranks as his second-best coaching job behind winning Super Bowl XLIV with the Saints — there is no feeling like it. The falls, though, are brutal, unforgettable. And this one felt inevitable after the fourth down failure. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey called BS on anyone blaming Stidham. But, Stidham expected more than five completions for 10 yards after halftime. And more than seven points when reaching the Patriots' 39-yard line four times. The Broncos needed Stidham to hold his own. He did, save for a controversial mistake that cost the Broncos seven points. With Denver white-knuckling a 7-0 lead, Elijah Ponder recovered Stidham's backward pass at the 12-yard line, setting up a Maye rushing touchdown. "I thought I threw it forward and obviously the replay said differently," said Stidham, who completed 17 of 33 passes for 131 yards. "Probably should have just eaten the sack ... and flipped the field." Payton admitted it was a turning point. Then there was the interception on a pass intended for Marvin Mims Jr. with 2:18 remaining on the same play that produced a 52-yard gain in the first quarter. But this game was not on Stidham. Or conditions more suited for the Iditarod. Or the multiple drops. This was on the coach, who swung for the home run and struck out. ...read more read less