Broncos analysis: ‘Leverage’ serves as final dagger, but Sean Payton’s team set itself up for failure several times

INDIANAPOLIS — Before “leverage” marred the Broncos’ Sunday in the Heartland, they actually found themselves sitting quite pretty. For much of the second half, Sean Payton’s team positioned itself to escape Lucas Oil Stadium with a win despite an uncharacteristically poor defensive outing. To head back to Denver with a pair of wins pocketed before opening division play next weekend. To learn tough lessons and slug through ugly film sessions from the left side of the ledger, a spoon full of sugar to take the edge of dozens of sure-to-be-bitter clips across all three phases. Three times in the final 20 minutes, in fact, the Broncos had prime chances to extend their lead to two scores. Three times they failed. Three times they left the door cracked open. Finally, disaster busted through. The 15-yard penalty on Dondrea Tillman that turned a 60-yard Spencer Shrader missed field goal and Broncos win into a 45-yarder sailing through the uprights served as the final crowbar’s worth of leverage, but Denver lost Sunday’s game several times over before the scoreboard showed 29-28 Colts at the final whistle. “We did a lot of things late in that game to keep us from winning,” Payton said after his team dropped needlessly to 1-1. “It will be painful to watch that film. … “We had a number of opportunities to not be in that position late and unfortunately we shot ourselves in the foot too many times.” Right tackle Mike McGlinchey didn’t need to see the tape to know exactly what he thought. Related Articles Broncos report card: Sean Payton’s play-calling shines, but Vance Joseph’s defense struggles in loss to Colts What is leverage? Referee explains call on Dondrea Tillman that handed Broncos Week 2 loss at Colts. PHOTOS: Denver Broncos fall to Indianapolis Colts 29-28 in NFL Week 2 Broncos four downs: Shane Steichen goes full Nathaniel Hackett, but Denver loses anyway Broncos corner Pat Surtain II says ankle injury is ‘nothing crazy’ but is something he needs to ‘monitor’ “There’s no way we should have lost that game,” he said. “We had probably six or seven opportunities in the second half to end it and we didn’t.” Trouble started at the 3 minute, 27 mark of the third quarter  and the Broncos leading, 28-23, after the defense notched one of its four red zone stops of the game. Quarterback Bo Nix opened up one way and rookie running back RJ Harvey went the other — a similar miscue happened with veteran running back J.K. Dobbins last week — leaving Nix in scramble mode. He got three yards but an incompletion on third-and-4 stalled the drive at Indy’s 45-yard line. Payton tried to tell Nix something on the sideline but Nix kept moving past him, only to be called back by the head coach for an animated discussion. A 37-yard punt to pin the Colts deep turned out to be the best outcome of the Broncos’ final three drives. An aggressive decision to decline a penalty paid off for Payton when the defense turned the Colts over on downs at midfield and set the offense up in great position with 13:02 remaining. They quickly moved into scoring range but Nix made one of only a few bad throws of his day at exactly the wrong time, sailing a ball for Courtland Sutton too high and into safety Cam Bynum’s arms. Payton said the ball was tipped. “It felt like we lost a little bit of our momentum,” Nix said. “We missed a chance at three points at least there when you’re already in the red zone, if not a touchdown, if I just hit that pass.” The second-year quarterback had to that point authored an impressive response to a shaky Week 1 outing — he threw first-half touchdowns to Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin and Adam Trautman, acted decisively on an 18-yard third-down scramble to move the chains and overall operated quickly and efficiently both in the pocket and on the move. When the offense got the ball for the final time with 8:29 to go, the lead had been trimmed to 28-26 thanks to a 68-yard Taylor burst and subsequent field goal. Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) gets taken down by Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (99) and teammate Samson Ebukam (52) in the fourth quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post) One final time, a spate of self-inflicted damage kept the Colts on the doorstep. First, J.K. Dobbins followed a powerful 23-yard run by spiking the ball and drawing a delay of game penalty. “I didn’t know I couldn’t,” Dobbins told The Post. “I’ve always done it.” Then Trautman got his hands in a facemask and pushed the Broncos back 15 yards. “You get behind the chains that severely and the percentages of making a first down just bottom out,” McGlinchey said. Still, the Broncos had a chance to push the lead to five until kicker Wil Lutz doinked a 42-yard field goal off the right upright. Lutz had been 55 of 58 on field goal attempts of less than 50 yards since joining the Broncos. “Look, the team deserved to win this game,” said Lutz, who added he knew he hit a bad ball as soon as it left his foot. “My number was called on fourth down and the ball didn’t go in. Gotta be better.” Denver Broncos place kicker Wil Lutz (3) and Denver Broncos punter Jeremy Crawshaw (16) walk off the field after Lutz missed a field goal in the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post) The Broncos were in position to win the game. That’s not the same as deserving to win. The defense played well overall in the red zone but was far too leaky early in the game. They busted coverages and bounced tackles and let Daniel Jones tear them apart for 20 first-half points. The offense started fast but finished with a thud. “It slipped away from us, got away,” Nix said. “We made errors at the end that cost us.” Add in eight total penalties for 83 yards and the Broncos left themselves exposed. They left themselves exposed not only to one too many mental errors, but to a chance to stake an early claim. To start 2-0 for the first time since 2021. To pull two games clear of nine-time defending AFC West champ Kansas City. To show that this group knows how to win close games rather than cough them up. Instead, the opposite. It’s not a crippler by any means, but it stings now and the cost may well multiply in the months to come. “Coach said it best after the game, you’ve got to learn to win,” McGlinchey said. “In order to do that you’ve got to stop losing. We gave that game away today.” A year ago, Taylor’s inexplicable goal line fumble flipped a game between these two teams and ultimately served as essentially the difference between the Broncos going to the playoffs instead of the Colts. Denver’s got plenty of road ahead but now must work to ensure that “leverage” doesn’t return the favor in 2025. Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.