CINCINNATI — Sean Payton felt good about the Broncos’ standing in the moment and overall.
He liked the paths to the finish line from eight seconds left in regulation at Paycor Stadium.
Not just to a win or a tie, but to a long-elusive postseason berth.
He liked the way his offense hit its stride and the way his defense had rattled Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow through a wild first 59 minutes, 52 seconds.
Instead of victory and a postseason berth, however, the path Payton chose eventually led Denver to a second straight week of heartbreak.
The Broncos’ fate remains unsettled after a 30-24 overtime loss to the Bengals that pushed what once looked like a glide path to the playoffs to the uncomfortably steep terrain of Week 18.
“We’ve got to turn ourselves into winners and we’ve got to make sure that, when we control the outcome of certain things, that we finish,” Denver right tackle Mike McGlinchey lamented after his team fell to 9-7.
For the second straight week, Denver had a chance to do just that. A chance to finish and a chance to put the second-longest postseason drought in the NFL to rest.
For the second straight week, the team came so close it could almost reach out and touch Wild Card weekend.
They could have won with a two-point conversion in the waning seconds.
They could have won with one productive drive in overtime.
Heck, they could have won, really, without even winning.
“It went back and forth and in the end we didn’t make enough plays,” Payton said.
Control of the fourth quarter alone swung several times. It went to Cincinnati on Burrow’s tear-drop touchdown pass to Tee Higgins — the second of three on the night for the physically imposing receiver — and then back to Denver on rookie quarterback Bo Nix’s 51-yard moon ball touchdown to Marvin Mims Jr. that tied the game at 17.
To Denver again when Pat Surtain II stripped the ball from Higgins and set the visitors up with a chance to drive for a potentially game-winning field goal, but then back to the Bengals with 2:30 to go when Nix made the biggest mistake of the night on an interception right to linebacker Germaine Pratt, leading to an eventual Burrow touchdown plunge with 89 seconds remaining.
When the Broncos forced the see-saw back in their direction one final time in regulation, it might have been the last.
Nix engineered the biggest drive of his young career to date, taking the Broncos 70 yards and finishing it with a 25-yard heave to a double-covered Mims in the end zone on a gotta-have-it fourth-and-1 with 14 seconds left.
Pandemonium. Amid the celebration, Nix waggled two fingers in the air. The offense stayed on the field for a review.
Go for two and punch the playoff ticket with a conversion? Or kick the extra point and play for overtime knowing a win or a tie secures the postseason spot?
Payton chose the latter after what he said was “plenty of time” to consider all the options.
“We knew a tie was, for us, just as beneficial as a win,” Payton said, adamantly defending the decision as the correct one. “We felt like we had the momentum at that point.”
Overtime featured all manner of drama, too, most notably Cincinnati kicker Cade York doinking a 33-yard field goal. But it also featured two dry possessions from the Denver offense — six plays and 6 total yards — and two bad punts by Riley Dixon.
Still, Denver’s second drive, beginning with 2:43 left in overtime, could have ended the game multiple ways. Any points would have done the job. So, too, would a couple of first downs and zeroes on the game clock. Instead, three-and-out.
Those all added up to one too many chances for Burrow, who kept his team’s season alive with a walk-off, 3-yard touchdown to Higgins in the final 67 seconds of overtime.
Now Payton’s team must win at Empower Field against a Kansas City team with nothing to play for or leave its playoff fate in the hands of others.
If Saturday was any indication, they do not want their January schedule dictated by Burrow.
The MVP candidate responded every time the Broncos put something good together offensively and every time Denver’s best defensive players did what they’ve done all season.
Surtain made life difficult on star receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Zach Allen powered his way to 3.5 sacks.
Burrow just kept hitting back, completing 39 of 49 for 412 yards and three touchdowns while getting battered for seven total sacks.
In the process, he narrowed Denver’s path considerably.
“If you let guys like Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins stay around, they’re probably going to find a way to punch their ticket,” McGlinchey said.
The Broncos let them hang around in Week 17. They’d better not in Week 18.
When Denver got on the plane to Los Angeles nine days ago, it could have played its way to the AFC’s No. 5 seed. Could have won up to 12 games. Could have kicked the postseason door wide open.
Now the only way in is the No. 7 seed. They likely have to win against a club that’s had the upper hand 17 of the past 18 times they’ve played, whether their stars are in uniform or not come the weekend in Denver.
For as gutting as the past two games have been, the Broncos will think nothing of it if the third time’s the charm.
“(McGlinchey) talked about it right after the game,” tight end Adam Trautman said. “We control our own destiny. We’re in control of it. Obviously, we’ve dropped two that we could have won — should have won. But everything is on the table next week. You win and you’re in. We’re looking forward to, obviously, watching the film and learn from it but then moving on and pushing all the chips to the middle of the table next week.”
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