Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton's decision to go for two against the Philadelphia Eagles could become a defining moment in the 2025 season, and perhaps beyond.
The Broncos trailed the Eagles 17-3 entering the fourth quarter but they made a furious rally, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull within one point with 7:36 to play. Shockingly, Payton decided to go for a two-point conversion, basically with no hesitation.
The play worked and the Broncos took an 18-17 lead, one they never relinquished.
The #Broncos have erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter — and take the lead when Sean Payton goes for two. Wild finish ahead in Philadelphia. pic.twitter.com/AUahP1TQLt
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 5, 2025
Watching it live, you felt like Payton understood the gravity of the situation and wanted to be aggressive. In his post-game press conference, he pretty much said as much, noting his confidence in the play he had ready.
Sean Payton on going for 2 pic.twitter.com/fF4p9OiRjq
— DNVR Broncos (@DNVR_Broncos) October 5, 2025
"Well, number one, we felt situationally with the time left on the clock, ya know, we came here to win a game... and I had two or three calls that I loved. So sometimes you use those calls, ya know, inside the five, but we got to a call that I had a lot of confidence in and the guys executed it, it was perfect.
But we felt, I think it was seven... seven and a half minutes, let's do that, let's keep being aggressive. I regret one call, one call at the very end, the last call on third down. We had another one that would have been perfect, but we settled for the field goal and we played real good defense. Good win", said Payton.
It was a good win, an extremely good win. In fact, this is the kind of win that goes a great distance in building a championship-caliber squad. Payton has been there before and he knows what it takes. The Broncos beat the defending Super Bowl champions and handed them their first loss of the season. But the long-lasting impact of this victory will be even bigger than that.
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