Sean Payton confirms he was going to fake a punt in OT against the Bills

Sean Payton took the podium for the first time at 2026 Broncos training camp and confirmed what ESPN’s Seth Wickersham revealed earlier this month. He really did call a fake punt on fourth-and-11 from Denver’s own 38-yard line in overtime of the AFC divisional round against the Buffalo Bills.

“Alright, yes,” Payton said with a grin when asked about the play.

The play, nicknamed “Rutgers Special” was a design Payton had crafted specifically for a high-stakes moment against Buffalo. According to Wickersham’s article, Payton watched 71 fake punts looking for the right one to adopt and adapt, eventually settling on a play tweaked from the 2019 Raiders.

Payton liked the play and situation.

“Yeah I felt real good about getting 14 yards,” he said lightheartedly.

But the players on the field had other ideas.

As Wickersham detailed, the punt team vetoed Payton’s call at the line of scrimmage and elected to kick the ball away instead. That decision turned out to be the right one. Punter Jeremy Crawshaw pinned Buffalo deep, and on the ensuing possession, Josh Allen was intercepted by cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian, setting up Denver’s 33-30 overtime victory and sending the Broncos to the AFC Championship Game.

Payton acknowledged as much.

“Now, we canned it and punted out to the one. And it worked out,” he said.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Payton had the audacity to call a fake punt in overtime of a playoff game. This is the same coach who dialed up a surprise onside kick in the second half of Super Bowl XLIV, a play that helped deliver the New Orleans Saints their first championship.

Perhaps the most entertaining nugget from the press conference came at the end. Payton revealed that he went golfing with Josh Allen this summer, the same quarterback whose interception ended Buffalo’s season. No hard feelings, apparently.

With training camp underway and the Broncos eyeing an even deeper playoff run in 2026, Payton’s willingness to take risks remains a defining trait. Whether “Rutgers Special” ever sees the light of day on a real football field remains to be seen.

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