NFL Fans Criticize Sean Payton amid Broncos' Blowout Loss to Jared Goff, Lions

NFL fans were puzzled by Sean Payton's decision-making as the Denver Broncos lost to the Detroit Lions on Saturday night, falling by the score of 42-17.

Jared Goff torched Denver's defense, throwing for 278 yards and a season-high five touchdowns without committing a turnover. The Lions as a team racked up 448 yards of offense, dominating the Broncos in all three phases of the game.

However, Payton made a few perplexing choices during the contest that hurt Denver's chances of coming back. Late in the third quarter, running backs Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin were both ruled to have stopped just short of the end zone on consecutive plays that ended at Detroit's one-yard line.

Payton decided not to challenge the plays before an offensive offsides penalty forced the Broncos into a fourth down situation at the Lions' five-yard line. Instead of going for it, Denver opted to kick a field goal that brought the score to just 28-10 entering the fourth.

Cameras caught Payton yelling at Russell Wilson on the sidelines, although fans criticized his unwillingness to challenge the goal-line plays.

With just over 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Broncos decided to punt the ball with 10 yards to gain on fourth down at their own 44-yard line. With the team trailing by 25 points at the time, fans weren't pleased with Payton's decision to give the ball back to Detroit.

After a five-game winning streak that began in Week 7, the Broncos have now lost two of their past three games. At 7-7, they'll need to secure a win against the New England Patriots in their next game or else Denver's playoff hopes could vanish.