Sean Payton was outcoached by Jim Harbaugh in last night’s loss.

Payton’s Denver Broncos led 21-10 before half, when his first coaching gaffe cost the team three points.

Then, down in the fourth quarter, the Broncos coach made multiple more mistakes that led to the 34-27 loss.

Sean Payton was outcoached by Jim Harbaugh despite his best efforts

If you had to assemble a top-10 coaches in the NFL, it’s likely three of them would come from the AFC West.

Andy Reid is still the best coach in the league, although Dan Campbell of the Lions is making his case. But somewhere in that top-10 Harbaugh and Payton likely reside.

Harbaugh’s currently making his case in his first year back to the NFL in 10 years, leading the Chargers to a superb turnaround and a (likely) playoff berth.

Meanwhile Payton’s done a similar rebuilding job in a similarly short period of time. No one expected the Broncos–who’ve missed the playoffs eight straight years–to be poised to make the postseason this year. Especially with a rookie quarterback and $85 million in dead cap weighing them down.

And if you had to list them, LA’s coach deserves to be ahead of Denver’s.

Because Sean Payton was outcoached by Jim Harbaugh last night, both early and late.

Denver absolutely dominated the first half and led by 11 late. Payton thought he could run the clock out, but decided to throw the ball twice, including an incompletion which stopped the clock. When the Broncos ran with Javonte Williams, and he was short, Harbaugh smartly called the team’s first timeout.

Denver punted and Tremon Smith made a boneheaded play, interfering with the fair catch receiver. Time ran out, giving the Chargers a free chance at a 57-yard field goal on a free kick. Cameron Dicker nailed it and the Broncos lead shrank to eight at halftime.

It was the first time in 48 years a free kick had been taken in the NFL, and Harbaugh couldn’t wait to use it. Payton’s poor playcalling helped him do so.

Broncos abandoned the run game, were too conservative on 4th downs

Sean Payton’s playsheet famously had “RUN IT!!!” in bold letters last night.

He was even asked about it during the halftime interview.

That’s because the Broncos had been horrible at running the ball for most of this season, and they were brilliant to start the game. Denver ran the ball down LA’s throat the first drive for a touchdown, and enjoyed 89 rushing yards in the first half alone.

But they finished with 110 rushing yards, handing it off only seven times after the break.

As our Doug Ottewill wrote today, Payton needed to keep running the ball.

It wasn’t just that Payton abandoned the run game, it’s that Nix’s passes were repeatedly short. His average depth of target in the game was a mere 1.2 yards, the lowest of his career.

Late in the game, the Broncos head coach made two more mistakes. Namely, he didn’t go for it on fourth down twice when he should have.

The first time came with 9:55 to go in the game, Denver down three points at the 50 yard line. 4th Down Bot called it a “STRONG Go for it” situation.

“Yeah but the timeouts, all the percentages, field position,” Payton pushed back. “We just couldn’t get them to stop.”
They had another chance to do the right thing, but Payton deferred and punted again, with the ball at Denver’s 49, down three, and 4:35 on the clock.

These are seemingly minor coaching decisions, but they had major implications on the game. And there’s no doubt Sean Payton was outcoached by Jim Harbaugh.

Harbaugh now has a 5-1 record over Payton, including the two head-to-head wins this year. That should be at least slightly concerning for Broncos fans, as both men seem entrenched in their positions for the near future.

Denver (9-6) now needs to win one of their final games to get into the playoffs. They face the Bengals who are on the outside looking in, and then the No. 1 seed Chiefs.