The Denver Broncos fell 23–20 to the Los Angeles Chargers, thanks to a last-second Cameron Dicker field goal. The visitors had the lead late, but once again, couldn’t quite close the door when it mattered most. And head coach Sean Payton was quick to point fingers at the most obvious problem.

In the post-game presser, a frustrated Sean Payton sent a very clear message to the locker room. “We got to clean these up,” Payton said. “The penalties though, the negative plays, those are the things… that set us back. We got to be able to align correctly… that needs to be cleaned up fast,” he added.

The Broncos were up 20-13 with just over six minutes left in the fourth, but a series of costly penalties flipped the momentum. An offensive offsides by Adam Trautman and a face mask by Garett Bolles pushed them deep into their own territory.

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Then, Talanoa Hufanga’s unnecessary roughness gave the Chargers a fresh set of downs, setting up their game-tying touchdown. Los Angeles took full advantage, and Cameron Dicker nailed a last-second field goal to hand Denver a loss.

Penalties ruined their chance to close out the game.

The visitors were flagged 10 times for 90 yards tonight. Any head coach fumes at the idea of even a couple of penalties. Imagine what witnessing 10 penalties did to Payton.

Now let’s put that stat against the Chargers. They had just 3 penalties for 25 yards. Some of those flags were “No Play” penalties that wiped out what could’ve been big gains for the Denver. Others were defensive fouls that kept Charger drives alive and made the Broncos’ field position even uglier.

And it wasn’t just about losing a few yards. That Riley Moss incident in the second quarter? A costly flag for pass interference. The Chargers took it to 3 and scored afterwards. This needs to be cleaned up over the course of the season.

And we’re accustomed to this. The Broncos were no strangers to flags last season, racking up 108 penalties in 2024. So this whole “discipline” talk isn’t new, it’s a trend Sean Payton is rightly trying to flip in 2025.

When Sean Payton talks about “negative plays,” he is not just talking flags. Denver’s offense had a few drives derailed by sacks and lost-yardage runs. Bo Nix took a hit, and the team gave up two sacks for six yards.

There’s a little silver lining, at least. The Broncos didn’t turn the ball over even once. That’s…rare. And as far as tonight goes, tomorrow will be more important for Sean Payton.

Sean Payton urges urgency

Sean Payton made it clear that it’s imperative to focus on tomorrow rather than dwell on tonight. “Tomorrow’s more important than the game we just played. We got to get better fast. If we do, this will be alright.” If tomorrow’s all about fixing these mistakes, then yeah, it’s a pretty important day.

There’s a pattern to how Payton handles this. After close losses, like that Colts game with the infamous “leverage” call, he’ has never been shy about owning up. He told reporters that certain special-teams alignments and the decision to go for a block were “on me.”

But even Payton can only do so much if the team keeps handing out unnecessary penalties. Negative plays and flags are fixable, sure, but at the end of the day, it’s on the players to clean it up and find a way out of that mess.

There’s still time to turn things around. The Broncos sit second in the AFC West, just ahead of the Raiders and Chiefs. The Raiders have their own backfield headaches, and the Chiefs are giving serious 2012 flashbacks. The playoff dream is very much alive, as long as Denver can find a way out of this mess.