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Daily Play Call

2026 Week 3 · Sep 27, 2026 · Easy

Rams at Broncos final drive: call the plays

DEN23
3:384th
26LA
1st & 10Ball on own 35
DENLA101020203030404050504040303020201010

Field goal ties · TD wins

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The situation

Denver Broncos down 3 (23–26), 3:38 left in the fourth quarter, 1st & 10 on the own 35. You are the play-caller for this Rams at Broncos final drive.

Score
Broncos 23, Rams 26
Clock
3:38, Q4
Ball
1st & 10, own 35
Timeouts
3 left (defense 3)
Difficulty
Easy
Typical win rate
36%

The difficulty comes from how often a typical NFL play-caller wins from this spot in our simulation. The real head coach was Sean Payton; the defense was coached by Sean McVay.

What really happened on this drive

Play the drive first: the real calls are below.

Show the real play-by-play (10 plays)

The Broncos scored a touchdown. Final score: Broncos 30, Rams 26, a win for Broncos.

  1. 1st & 10 at the own 35, 3:38 · Play action (best call)
    10-B.Nix pass incomplete short middle to 27-J.Dobbins (97-P.Ford).
  2. 2nd & 20 at the own 25, 3:26 · Quick out (costly)
    10-B.Nix pass short right to 13-P.Bryant to LA 36 for 39 yards (3-K.Curl).
  3. 1st & 10 at the opp 36, 2:35 · Quick out (close)
    10-B.Nix pass short right to 11-T.Franklin to LA 15 for 21 yards (22-T.McDuffie).
  4. 1st & 10 at the opp 15, 2:00 · Inside run (close)
    63-A.Palczewski reported in as eligible. 27-J.Dobbins up the middle to LA 13 for 2 yards (97-P.Ford).
  5. 2nd & 8 at the opp 13, 1:22 · Quick out (close)
    10-B.Nix pass short right to 12-R.Harvey to LA 11 for 2 yards (53-N.Landman; 2-J.McCollough).
  6. 1st & Goal at the opp 7, 1:09 · Outside run (close)
    27-J.Dobbins right tackle to LA 5 for 2 yards (37-Q.Lake; 0-B.Young).
  7. 2nd & Goal at the opp 5, 1:05 · Quick out (costly)
    10-B.Nix pass incomplete short left to 14-C.Sutton.
  8. 1st & Goal at the opp 2, 0:56 · Play action (best call)
    63-A.Palczewski reported in as eligible. 10-B.Nix pass incomplete short right to 45-N.Adkins.
  9. 2nd & Goal at the opp 2, 0:51 · Outside run (close)
    63-A.Palczewski reported in as eligible. 10-B.Nix right end for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN. The Replay Official reviewed the runner broke the plane ruling, and the play was REVERSED. (Shotgun) 63-A.Palczewski rep
  10. 3rd & Goal at the opp 1, 0:48 · QB sneak (best call)
    63-A.Palczewski reported in as eligible. 10-B.Nix up the middle for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN.

By our grades, Sean Payton made the best or a near-best call (green) on 3 of 10 graded snaps and gave up 2.4 win-probability points per call on average. Plays with penalties are not graded.

How this final drive is graded

Every call you make is compared with every other call available on that snap. We play out the rest of the drive hundreds of times from your exact down, distance, field position, clock and timeouts, with results drawn from real NFL plays and a typical NFL play-caller making the later calls. The difference in win probability between your call and the best call is your grade for that snap. The final drive result, touchdown or not, does not change the grades. Read the full method.

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