Coming out of their bye week and a dispiriting loss their archrival Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs faced their most important game of the season on Sunday when they traveled to Denver to take on the AFC West-leading Broncos — and they lost.
A walk-off, 35-yard field goal by nine-year veteran Denver kicker Wil Lutz sent the Chiefs back to Kansas City with a 22-19 defeat, dropping their record to 5-5 and leaving them needing a miracle if they hope to extend their streak of nine straight division titles to 10.
But the game featured some extraordinary moments, including one bizarre incident that resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Denver’s head coach — a stunningly thoughtless mistake that could have easily turned the momentum of the game back in the Chiefs’ favor.
Payton Collides With Official on Sideline
Now, 61-year-old coach Sean Payton, in his third season in Denver after 15 at the helm of the New Orleans Saints — including a victory in Super Bowl 44, the only championship in Saints history — must wait for the NFL league office to make a decision on whether he will be punished further, in the form of a potentially hefty fine.
“During the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo. Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian had just intercepted Patrick Mahomes at the Denver 5-yard line and was on his way to a return all the way to the Chiefs’ 32-yard line,” recounted reporter Grey Papke of Larry Brown Sports. “Payton, however, was too focused on the return, and was also standing in the white on the sideline. As a result, linesman Derick Bowers smashed right into him.”
Broncos Scored TD Despite Penalty Setback
Because it is the responsibility of sideline personnel, including head coaches, to keep the white-painted area clear during play, game officials hit Payton with an automatic flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Broncos also incurred an illegal blindside block penalty on the play. As a result, Denver was forced to start its drive after the turnover from its own 11 yard line, rather than from Kansas City’s 32.
In the end, it made little difference because Broncos quarterback Bo Nix led his team on an 89-yard drive that ended with Denver’s only touchdown, a four-yard run up the middle by backup running back Jaleel McLaughlin who was in the game only due to a season-ending injury to starter J.K. Dobbins.
Payton, Coaches History of NFL Punishment
The NFL’s process for punishing coaches differs from the process for disciplining players, who are governed by the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement.
In 2017, when he was coaching the Saints, Payton was slapped with a $10,000 fine for entering the field of play to argue with officials. Payton was also fined $15,000 in 2008 for arguing with officials.
Whether Payton will be hit with another financial penalty for his incursion into the restricted sideline area should be be determined within the week.
Fines imposed on coaches are not common in the NFL, but they are far from unknown. In addition to Payton’s $10,000 fine in 2017, then-New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was fined $50,000 in 2012 for making physical contact with an official.
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh was also fined for contact with an official in 2010, in the amount of $15,000.
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