Renck: Sean Payton gets greedy at end of first half, and Broncos’ playoff bid gets struck by lightning

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Hold your horses.

The Broncos saw the light. And the Chargers gave them thunder.

The Broncos are not yet playoff-bound for the first time since 2015. Their noses remain pressed up against the postseason window pane after a loss that was easier to hate than explain.

Broncos coach Sean Payton entered Thursday night with a directive, his own version of a seatbelt. On the top of his play sheet, the message screamed in capital letters: Run It!!!

It was the football equivalent of the popular saying, keep it simple, stupid. But at the end of the first half, the Broncos offense humming in a way not seen since the days of Peyton Manning, Payton got greedy. Jim Harbaugh got nerdy.

And so here we are: On to Cincinnati. The Broncos lost because of Dicker the Kicker and Hassan Haskins. The Chargers, despite trailing 21-10, despite giving up a touchdown on the Broncos’ first three possessions, were better.

It does not mean it will be true next season. Or in 2026. But it is an undeniable fact now. And that feels like 80,000 volts running through the veins of Broncos Country.

One decision by Payton and a single boot symbolized a Thursday night that will be forever remembered for failure if the Broncos don’t win one of their final two games against the Bengals and Chiefs.

It unfolded like this. The Broncos took over at their own 18-yard line with 41 seconds remaining in the first half following Kris Abrams-Draine’s interception of Justin Herbert. The sea of orange was cascading over them. They were taking over this stadium, with visions of someday winning the division. All the pieces of the rebuild were coming together like some magical puzzle. And then they fractured and scattered, like the dreams of so many aspiring actors in this city.

Bo Nix completed a pass to Javonte Williams. It went for minus-3 yards. That math should have told Payton to take off his headset and head to the locker room for a deep breath, water and a banana. Instead, he fell for the banana in the tailpipe. There is nothing more powerful than the male ego, and it got the best of Payton. Maybe the Chargers would have burned all of their timeouts. Maybe not. But the Broncos opened the door with a messy sequence.

He stayed aggressive on second-and-13 with Nix trying to connect with Williams after not huddling. It fell incomplete, saving the Chargers a timeout. Williams ran for 1-yard on third down as Harbaugh, who would say later he practiced this unlikely scenario, stopped the clock with eight seconds remaining.

It was to set up a return. Instead, it became a Secret Santa gift.

Just as Broncos Country was heading to the fridge for a break or to the concessions at SoFi Stadium, Riley Dixon punted 46 yards to the Chargers’ 38-yard line. Only a historian or comedian could fathom what would happen next. Tremon Smith, the Broncos’ best special teams player, brushed into returner Derius Davis on a fair catch.

Those last two words never seemed so illegal. By an obscure rule, the Chargers could elect to take a free kick after the 15-yard penalty with no time remaining. Never seen it work? No one had unless they were in attendance at a Chargers game in 1976 involving Ray Wersching.

After the 15 yards were marched off, Cameron Dicker set up for a 57-yard field goal attempt that looked like a kickoff. There was no rush. Just Dicker flanked by nine teammates and a holder, and well you know how this is going to end, don’t you?

He drilled it. What in the name of Doug Flutie’s dropkick for the Patriots just happened? Harbaugh insisted this was a situation the Chargers practiced, and given he just won a national championship at Michigan, the tendency is to believe him.

“Great football game. Let’s talk about Cam Dicker and the free kick. It’s my favorite rule in football. I have been trying to get one in every game. When Cameron Dicker made it, it got the momentum back,” Harbaugh said. “This was our chance. This was our moment (to try it).”

The score read 21-13. But it no longer felt right, like when you have that extra piece of pizza at lunch or a third cocktail during happy hour.

“We practice it all the time,” Payton said. “In that situation, the penalty put them in field-goal position. It’s disappointing.”

Suddenly, the Chargers had momentum that they had no right to own. And aside from the Broncos’ initial drive to steal back three points in the third quarter, the second half became a series of “you’ve got to be kidding me” moments. Denver produced 119 yards and six first downs in the second half, rushing for only 21 yards on eight carries after posting 89 in the first half. Spotty play-calling and too many penalties created a platform for Hebert to take over.

He made throws going to his left. He ran like he was being chased by cheetahs. He threw across his body. It was like he was in the Rose Bowl all over again. This night was supposed to be about a quarterback from Oregon. But not that one.

Herbert erased the deficit and shoved the Chargers ahead with a 19-yard scoring toss to Davis. Then came a two-point conversion that all but signaled that the Broncos were not going to win this game, clobbered over the head by reality like so many times over the last eight seasons.

He fired a dart into the middle of the field. It appeared linebacker Justin Strnad tipped it. Joshua Palmer definitely deflected it. To himself. For a toe-drag swag two-point conversion.

The Broncos, because the NFL demands one-score games, had an opportunity to tie the game, but fizzled at midfield with 9:48 remaining. They punted. That made sense. But unlike so many times this season, the defense could not save them.