For all sad words of tongue and pen . . .
The saddest are these: it might have been
Those words were written in 1854 by the Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier as the conclusion to his poem “Maud Muller.”
They capture the inescapable feelings of regret and missed opportunity that result from actions not taken or an outcome not realized.
Whittier wrote the poem about an unfulfilled encounter he had with a lovely farm girl.
But it has come to represent regret of all sorts and applies now to the Broncos’ loss to New England in last Sunday’s American Football Conference championship game.
On his first completed pass in a regulation National Football League game in more than two years, Jarrett Stidham connected with Marvin Mims for 52 yards.
Denver had a first-and-goal at the Patriots’ seven less than four minutes into the game.
Two plays later, Stidham rolled right and hit Courtland Sutton in the corner of the end zone.
Denver touchdown! Broncos 7, New England 0.
What a start for the backup quarterback filling in for the injured Bo Nix.
Looking back, though, it might not have been. Too easy.
After holding the Patriots to six yards combined on their next two series and forcing two punts, the Broncos began what would turn out to be a Whittier-like drive on their own 43.
Through 10 plays, Denver methodically advanced 43 yards to New England’s 14-yard line.
It was fourth-and-one, presenting Denver head coach and play-caller Sean Payton with a choice: kick a field goal and go up two scores (10-0) or try for a first down in the hope of eventually scoring another touchdown.
Reflecting on this moment at halftime, former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who became a TV analyst in 2007 after winning 149 games in 15 years, including Super Bowl XL, said he would have taken the three points.
Payton, though, eschewed the gimme kick.
Hubris? Maybe.
“I think the feeling was, ‘Man, let’s be aggressive,” Payton explained., “to get up by 14 . . .
“There are always regrets . . . Yes, there’ll always be second thoughts.”
Rather than try to pick up the needed yard with a run into the line, Payton had Stidham attempt a pass to R.J. Harvey on the right flank.
New England hurried Stidham and covered Harvey.
IN-COM-PLETE!!
“That sequence of plays was a big turning point in the game,” sad Sutton. “Momentum is a dangerous thing, and when you have it, you want to hold onto it as long as possible.
“They capitalized on that situation.”
The Broncos spent the rest of the game—in deteriorating conditions—trying to overcome that decision.
With 4:46 left to play Will Lutz attempted a 46-yard field goal that would have tied the game.
Unlike the opportunity Payton passed up in the first half, this one would take place on a snowy field in swirling wind.
“Unfortunately, you couldn’t see the lines on the field,” Lutz said, “and honestly, I think we might have been a yard short on the snap.
“A guy come through and it gets blocked.”
That guy was Leonard
Taylor III, and he’s living proof that not every NFL player is a sure thing coming out of college.
A five-star recruit entering the University of Miami, Taylor was considered a possible first-round pick when he entered the NFL Draft.
But scouting reports questioned his intensity and consistency. Alas, he wasn’t drafted at all.
Taylor signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2024 after playing for the University of Miami. Last October the Jets released him.
He was signed to New England’s practice squad on October 16, 2025, has played in all of the Pats’ playoff games, and is going to the Super Bowl.
In the aftermath of the bitter defeat, everyone it seemed was trying to pin the loss on someone or something that made the difference.
“In a moment like that, you really wish things could have gone the other way,” said placement holder Jeremy Crawshaw. “That we could have put it through, gone to OT and won the game. But we just didn’t.”
Or as Courtland Sutton, sounding a lot like John Greenleaf Whittier, said:
“It’s unfortunate because of how close we came.”
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Denny Dressman writes a weekly sports column for The Villager. You can write to Denny at dennydressman@comcast.net.