GLENDALE, Ariz. — Sean Payton took complete ownership of a questionable fourth-quarter play call after his team secured a 30-16 road victory against the Arizona Cardinals. Five minutes into his postgame news conference, the Denver Broncos head coach proactively addressed a late-game miscue.
“Why hasn’t anyone asked me about the dumb reverse call?” Payton said. “I’m going to answer. Everyone ask the question. It was awful, alright, I’m sorry.”
Payton referenced a similar situation from 2008 when an even more radical reverse resulted in a fumble that helped Tampa Bay defeat his team. With 4:51 remaining in regulation and Denver holding a two-touchdown lead, Payton dialed up a reverse for top wide receiver Jaylen Waddle against Arizona’s zone-blitzing defense. The play lost 11 yards and resulted in a fumble, though the Broncos retained possession when Waddle dove on the loose ball.
The real cost of the play, however, was physical. When Waddle rolled over after falling on the ball, he grabbed his left chest and shoulder area with his right hand and remained down until athletic trainers rushed onto the field. The team later classified the issue as a chest injury. After a brief evaluation inside the medical tent, Waddle headed directly back to the locker room.
Before exiting, Waddle recorded four catches for 48 yards. He had entered the weekend under physical scrutiny, having been limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday due to a chest injury before logging a full practice Friday to clear concussion and injury protocols. The immediate severity of the new injury remained unknown following the game, and Payton did not provide an update. Waddle, acquired in March through a trade with Miami that cost Denver a first-round draft pick and additional assets, has appeared in all seven games this season, totaling 276 yards and a touchdown.
The Broncos navigated other injury scares during the contest. All-Pro defensive tackle Zach Allen exited late in the game with a right hamstring concern after finishing a play on Arizona’s final drive. Allen grabbed his hamstring and sat down before walking off gingerly on his own power. Eschewing the medical tent entirely, he watched the remainder of the game from the sideline with his helmet off and later reassured reporters at the podium—an appearance players rarely make if dealing with a major injury—stating simply, “I’ll be fine.”
Meanwhile, star cornerback Pat Surtain II missed his third consecutive game due to an ankle injury sustained earlier in the month against San Francisco. Listed as questionable on the final injury report, Surtain’s absence was anticipated, though he traveled with the team to the desert and watched from the sideline in street clothes. The training staff has targeted a Week 8 return for Surtain ahead of next weekend’s matchup against Kansas City.
Amidst the health updates, second-year defensive lineman Sai’Vion Jones reached a career milestone. The 2025 third-round draft pick out of LSU, primarily deployed on run downs for dirty work, notched his first NFL sack early in the fourth quarter by bringing down Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett. The defensive stop arrived immediately after a 27-yard completion to Arizona tight end Trey McBride, who finished the game with 10 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. Jones’ sack helped energize a defensive stand that culminated in the Broncos forcing a turnover on downs.
