ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi on Tuesday in a shakeup of their coaching staff in the wake of their AFC championship game loss.

Lombardi had been with coach Sean Payton since he took the Broncos job 2023. His tenure in Denver ended after backup Jarrett Stidham filled in for an injured Bo Nix on Sunday and the New England Patriots beat the Broncos 10-7 in a game where a snowstorm made it difficult for both offenses in the second half.

Denver also fired wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and cornerbacks coach Addison Lynch. Lombardi also was part of Payton's staff in New Orleans.

“I want to thank these coaches for playing an important role in elevating our program over the last three seasons,” Payton said in a statement. “I’ve been fortunate to work with Joe Lombardi for 15 years and am particularly grateful for his many contributions to our success as offensive coordinator.

“We sincerely appreciate Joe, Keary and Addison’s hard work and wish them all the best in the future.”

Nix led the Broncos (15-4) to a franchise record-tying 14 wins in the regular season and their first playoff victory since Super Bowl 50 a decade ago. He’s won 25 games in two seasons and boasts an NFL-best 11 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime over that span. The Broncos’ offense averaged 23.6 points per game during the regular season.

Payton fell to 1-3 in conference championships.

Sean Payton's gamble: The decision that derailed the Broncos' Super Bowl dreams

DENVER (AP) — With a blizzard bearing down on Empower Field at Mile High, coach Sean Payton went for the jugular instead of the points, short-circuiting the Denver Broncos' drive to Super Bowl 60.

“There will always be second thoughts,” Payton said in the anguished aftermath of Denver's 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC championship Sunday.

Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham's first completion in 749 days was a 52-yard dart to Marvin Mims Jr. that set up Courtland Sutton’s 6-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. Stidham drove the Broncos to the Patriots' doorstep again early in the second quarter and the stadium was rocking with the thought of the franchise's ninth Super Bowl berth and first in a decade.

Payton called a timeout on fourth-and-1 at the New England 14. But instead of sending out Wil Lutz for a 31-yard field goal attempt — two yards shorter than an extra point — Payton kept his offense on the field, and not to try to draw the Patriots offside, either.

His first intention was a run up the middle behind the NFL's highest-paid offensive line, one that features a pair of All-Pros in right guard Quinn Meinerz and left tackle Garett Bolles, but Payton opted to have his backup QB, the one with one career victory in six NFL seasons, run a bootleg right and throw the ball.

Stidham could have found wide receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey open over the middle, but he keyed in on running back R.J. Harvey. And when Stidham was pressured, he threw the ball at Harvey's feet incomplete.

Instead of a two-score lead over an opponent that had managed a measly 12 yards of offense to that point and with nasty weather on the horizon, the Broncos saw their early momentum evaporate along with the first-half sunshine.

The Broncos never got inside the New England 30-yard line again.

“Hindsight, the initial run thought was a better decision,” Payton said. “There’s always regrets. Look, I felt like here we are fourth-and-1. I felt close enough. Also, it’s a call you make based on the team you are playing and what you are watching on the other side of the ball. But, there will always be second thoughts.”

Pundits, critics and commentators have been scrutinizing Payton ever since.

“Go up 10-0. Keep the momentum," ESPN analyst Booger McFarland said. "Because you did your homework before the game. You knew the weather was going to turn nasty. Even though Wil Lutz is a good kicker, it was going to be tough to kick in inclement weather. I thought this was a poor coaching decision and move by Sean Payton.

“If you’re going to go for it, how about run the ball?” McFarland added. “I mean, it’s fourth and 3 feet. Or a 31-yard field goal. Instead, you go reverse-pivot with a quarterback making his first start.”

Mark Schlereth, NFL analyst for Fox Sports, said on “The Dan Patrick Show” that he was in Peyton Manning's suite at the game with Manning, Mike Shanahan and Brandon Stokley. He said they all figured Payton would send out his kicker to make it a two-score game.

“You've got a backup quarterback, you've got a chance to go up 10-0 and your defense is balling out of control,” Schlereth said. "All of us were in agreement at that point: just kick the field goal, just kick the field goal. And you come out with a little roll-out pass and it was a debacle to begin with.

"And plus, at that point, you hadn't run the ball for 2 inches. So, it's not like you feel like, hey man, they're really going to respect our run game. They're really going to respect what we're doing here as an offense so we're just going to run the QB sneak or we're just going to run some power down the middle or iso and really smash-mouth these people. They were kicking our (behind) up front.

“So, I was like, kick the field goal, take the points, man, 10-0 is a big score, especially with the weather report that it was going to get nasty in the second half."

Patrick brought up the trend of NFL coaches going for it on fourth down — they're 25 of 51 in the playoffs so far.

“It almost seems like you're a failure if you don't go for it on fourth down and you take the field goal and you leave four points out there," he said. "But I don't know if the data is able to show, well, who's my quarterback? Who am I going against? What are the conditions? What time of the game am I doing all of this stuff?”

Schlereth is old school; he hates the analytics that have become such a prominent part of the game.

McFarland also questioned Rams coach Sean McVay's decision to go for it with just under five minutes remaining on fourth-and-4 at the Seattle 6 with Los Angeles trailing 31-27 in the NFC championship. McFarland argued McVay should have sent out Harrison Mevis for a chip-shot field goal. Instead, Matthew Stafford threw incomplete and when the Rams got the ball back in the waning seconds, they needed a TD, not a field goal, to win.

Make it a one-point game and "now you put the pressure back on Seattle’s offense,” McFarland said. "And so now, if you’re Seattle’s offense, and if you go three-and-out or (the Rams) get a ball back, we don’t need to drive for a touchdown. We've got a kicker that can kick a 50-yarder. And we’re on turf, so we don’t have to worry about the footing. And so now, the pressure goes back to Seattle’s offense to keep the football.”

Sean Payton says Broncos QB Bo Nix has an ankle condition that made break inevitable

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Sean Payton said at his season-ending news conference Tuesday that Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had a preexisting ankle condition that make a fracture inevitable.

Nix broke a bone in his right ankle on Denver's game-winning drive in the Broncos' 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Nix flew to Birmingham, Alabama, last week for an operation performed by Dr. Norman E. Waldrop III, a renowned foot and ankle specialist at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center.

Nix watched from a suite Sunday as backup Jarrett Stidham took his place in Denver's 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game.

On Tuesday, the Broncos' brass provided the fullest accounting yet of Nix's injury, with Payton saying a preexisting issue made the fracture “a matter of when.”

“What was found was a condition that was predisposed — they always find a little more when they go in,” Payton said. “It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when. When you look at the play and you’re trying to evaluate it — the operating surgeon said that this was going to happen sooner than later. Now, you go about the rehab, proper orthotics, all those things."

Payton said he has no concerns about Nix’s health going forward even though Nix has had several ankle operations going back to high school.

“So listen, he’ll rehab his tail off and get ready and get back to being healthy,” Payton said. "I think for someone who runs with the ball, I think he’s done a pretty good job of protecting himself, not all the time, but for the most part, he’s done a pretty good job of sliding and understanding playing for another day.”

General manager George Paton said Nix is tracking to return in May when the Broncos begin organized team activities.

Just before going to the lectern for his wrapup news conference, Payton said he saw Nix cruising around team headquarters on his medical scooter, which he'll use until he graduates to crutches and then a walking boot.

“He was just up above us here,” Payton said from the atrium of the Broncos' suburban headquarters. “I said, ‘What are you doing? Getting your scooter laps in?’

“You have to know him. He’s fidgety to begin with,” Payton said. “He might have just been getting his scooter laps. He was up there, like, in an area he’d never be in department-wise. He’s handling it like a pro. Man, I’m sure there’s disappointment for him to have to watch" on Sunday.

Nix led the Broncos (15-4) to a franchise record-tying 14 wins in the regular season and their first playoff triumph since Super Bowl 50 a decade ago. He's won 25 games in two seasons and has an NFL-best 11 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime during that span.

“It’s difficult to get as far as he brought us, and then also to see one of his contemporaries, someone in his draft class who he would have loved to have competed against, advance," Payton said of Patriots QB Drake Maye, who was Nix's predraft training partner.

"It’s a tough deal.”

Avalanche reward defenseman Sam Malinski's breakout season with a 4-year extension

DENVER (AP) — Sam Malinski's breakout season was rewarded Tuesday when the Colorado Avalanche signed the defenseman to a four-year extension.

The deal is reported to be worth $19 million, with an annual cap hit of $4.75 million.

The 27-year-old Malinski has already set career-highs with 21 assists and 24 points in logging 16 minutes, 43 seconds of ice time per game. He's second among defensemen on the team in assists behind reigning Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar.

"Sam is a hard-working defenseman who has great skating and puck-moving ability,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in a statement. “His commitment to the defensive side of the game has turned him into a reliable defenseman for us.”

It's another instance where the Avalanche have rewarded an up-and-coming player this season. In November, Gavin Brindley signed a two-year contract extension less than 48 hours after scoring his first NHL overtime winner. The 5-foot-8, 173-pound Brindley was acquired by Colorado on June 27 as part of a deal that sent Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus.

Three months ago, the Avalanche signed Martin Necas to an eight-year, $92 million contract extension through 2034.

The Avalanche brought in Malinski as a college free agent in March 2023. He made the opening roster in 2024-25 and has been a fixture on the blueline since. He has 11 goals and 38 assists over 149 career regular-season appearances. Malinski also played in five games, with one assist, in the playoffs for Colorado last season against Dallas.

Malinski, who is 5-foot-11, 190-pounds, suited up for Cornell University from 2019-23. The Lakeville, Minnesota, native was a team captain in 2022-23.

Late to practice? That's $500 as Deion Sanders institutes bigger fines for violating team rules

For the Colorado Buffaloes, there's a stiff price to pay for being late to football practice: a $500 fine.

Not showing up at all? That's a $2,500 penalty.

Coach Deion Sanders is cracking down on violations of team rules with heftier fines for his players. Fresh off a 3-9 season, Sanders unveiled his fine structure during his first meeting with the team last Friday. The fees are seen in the background of a video posted by “ Well Off Media," the social media company run by his oldest son, Deion Jr., that chronicles the team.

It's not connected to name, image and likeness licensing agreements, and not related to on-field performance. It’s strictly for violating team rules, which is permissible, according to the school.

This isn't the first time Sanders has enacted a fine system. It's just now more costly.

Other fines that could be assessed include $2,000 for being a no-show to a meeting or film session ($400 for being late), $1,500 for not showing up to a strength and conditioning workout, $1,000 for being late to treatment ($1,500 for a no-show), up to $2,500 for a violation of team rules and up to $5,000 for public or social media misconduct.

Sanders also banned profanity outside of the meeting room and especially in the dining area because, “we're not the only ones in the cafeteria. You need to be respectful.” In addition, Sanders stressed the importance of being respectful to women.

One of his biggest forbidden items was directed at transfers: T-shirts, sweatshirts or any other gear of their former team.

“That's disrespectful,” Sanders said in the video. “That would be like your lady that you have currently wearing her (ex-boyfriend's) stuff. How do you feel about that? She's sitting up there with a shirt on that had her (ex-boyfriend's) name. ... That's how I feel about that when I see you come into the cafeteria — you eat our food with your last team on. Obviously, if you wanted to stay there, you should've stayed.”

Sanders had his staff introduce themselves at the meeting, including his head of security, Michael Rhodes. He revealed he fields about five death threats a day and warned the team about being mindful of who they let into the building.

“Everybody's trying to get to Coach Prime," Rhodes said. “Those people trying to get to him, not all of them have good intentions.”

New offensive coordinator Brennan Marion briefly talked to the team as well. He’s implementing the high-tempo, run-oriented “Go-Go” system for quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis to run.

“Really, what I want to talk to you guys about is that there’s no Plan B, fellas,” Marion said in the video. “One great year can change our lives, everybody in this room. It’s not my offense. It’s our offense.”

Tobias Harris and Cade Cunningham score 22 each as Pistons hold off Nuggets 109-107

DENVER (AP) — Tobias Harris scored 22 points, including two free throws with 2 seconds left, and the Detroit Pistons held off a late Denver rally to beat the travel-weary Nuggets 109-107 on Tuesday night.

Cade Cunningham had with 22 points and 11 assists for Detroit, which has won nine of 11 and leads the Eastern Conference by 5 1/2 games over Boston.

Jamal Murray had 24 points and 10 assists but missed two free throws in the final seconds. With the Nuggets down 107-104, Murray was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 4 seconds left and missed the first foul shot. Harris was fouled and made both free throws. Murray went to the line again with 0.7 seconds remaining but missed the second foul shot.

Jonas Valanciunas returned from a one-game absence to finish with 16 points and 16 rebounds for Denver, which had been scheduled to play at the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. The game was postponed because of the winter storm that hit most of the country, and the Nuggets were stranded in Memphis until Monday morning.

“The mental part of it was really hard,” coach David Adelman said.

Denver played without Aaron Gordon, who reinjured his right hamstring Friday night at Milwaukee. Nikola Jokic, Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun continued to rehab their injuries.

Valanciunas missed 11 games with a right calf strain suffered at Toronto on Dec. 31. He returned in Thursday night’s win at Washington but sat out against the Bucks.

The Pistons led by 18 in the second quarter and by 11 early in the fourth before Denver rallied. Trailing 97-90, the Nuggets went on a 7-2 run to get within a bucket, and Tim Hardaway Jr.'s 3-pointer made it 103-102 with 57 seconds left.

Up next

Pistons: At Phoenix on Thursday night.

Nuggets: Host Brooklyn on Thursday night.