Vic Fangio admits he shouldn’t have punted late

[KC Wolf]

Getty Images

The Broncos had a chance to catch the Chiefs flat-footed, as more than a few teams do. When that chance emerges, the underdog can’t play it safe.

On Sunday night, the Broncos did.

Down three points with 6:13 to play and facing fourth and three from their own 49, the Broncos punted. The Chiefs then responded with a 10-play, 55-yard drive that consumed more than five minutes and made a three-point game a six-point game.

Did Broncos coach Vic Fangio consider going for it?

“I gave it strong consideration,” Fangio told reporters. “But, you know, at some point in the game, we’ve got to get a stop, and we weren’t able to. I mean, we held them to a field goal, but that made it a touchdown game and, you know, burned off some of the time there. So in retrospect, you know, should have probably gone for it, but I did give it serious thought.”

There’s never a ton of time to consider decisions like that, and if the Broncos had stopped the Chiefs and tied or won the game, Fangio would have been hailed as a genius. The reality remains, however, that the Chiefs tend to find the gas pedal when they need to, and that the only way to keep Patrick Mahomes and company from winning the game is to keep them on the sidelines.

All due respect to next-gen stats and analytics, here’s the only factor that matters when playing the Chiefs: Keep Mahomes on the sideline. The Broncos had a chance to do that.