Bo Nix

The Denver Broncos lost Saturday's thriller against the Cincinnati Bengals in overtime but could have won it in regulation had head coach Sean Payton decided to go for the two-point conversion after Marvin Mims Jr.'s stunning touchdown catch with eight seconds remaining.

However, Payton kicked the extra point to force the extra period and told reporters after the game, "the decision we made is the right one. … A lot of it is your gut relative to how the toss goes. We were moving a little bit on offense, and then weighing the percentages of the two-point conversion. I think that had a lot do with it."

Denver would have clinched a playoff spot with a win or a tie, and he also said the possibility of the "tie element" played a role in the decision-making process.

It was not the only questionable coaching decision near the end of regulation, as Denver only had that possession that ended in a Mims touchdown because of poor clock management by Cincinnati.

The Bengals had 1st and goal from the Broncos' 6-yard line in the final two minutes and could have taken three knees, drained Denver's final timeout and kicked the winning field goal. Instead, head coach Zac Taylor chose to run plays that ended in running back Chase Brown suffering an injury and quarterback Joe Burrow scoring a touchdown.

That gave quarterback Bo Nix nearly a minute-and-a-half to operate, and he found Mims for the touchdown. He also raised two fingers indicating the team should go for the two-point conversion after the pass, although he told reporters after the game he did so out of "straight emotion" and understood going for two is "not always the wisest decision."

Perhaps it would have been in this case, though, as Burrow was on the other sideline and dialed in during an incredible performance that saw him throw for 412 yards and three touchdowns while running for another score.

Cincinnati drove into scoring position twice in overtime, although Cade York missed what would have been the winning field goal the first time. Fortunately for the home team, Burrow found Tee Higgins for the winning touchdown on the next opportunity and kept the Bengals alive in the playoff race.

Now the Broncos need to defeat the 15-1 Kansas City Chiefs in their final game to clinch a playoff spot, although that may be easier than it looks on paper. After all, the Chiefs already clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC and may rest Patrick Mahomes and other players in preparation for the playoffs.

Fox Sports commentator Tom Brady has a vote in the Associated Press' NFL awards this season and it's unsurprisingly been a controversial topic, given that the former NFL quarterback is also a partial stakeholder in the Las Vegas Raiders.

That is the very definition of a conflict of interest, though the AP defended the decision to give Brady a vote on Friday.

"As a credentialed media member who covers the NFL regularly, Tom Brady meets the requirement to vote for the AP NFL awards," the AP's media relations manager, Nicole Meir, wrote to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk in an email. "We are confident that the integrity of the voting process will be respected by all voters."

The NFL itself has already acknowledged the potential conflict of interest between Brady's role as a partial owner and a color commentator, coming up with a list of specific restrictions for him in his role as an announcer. Those include him being excluded from team practices and broadcast meetings with the teams he's covering that week, preventing him from having the sort of access to other organizations that would give him valuable intel he could relay back to the Raiders.

The concerns about his AP voting status are no different. What happens when a player on the Raiders is in the running for a major reward? Will Brady be more inclined to vote for Brock Bowers as the Offensive Rookie of the Year this season over players like Jayden Daniels or Bo Nix?

It's not that Bowers isn't worthy of consideration. He's been fantastic this season, registering 101 receptions for 1,067 yards and four touchdowns, an absurd season for a rookie tight end. It's that if Brady votes for him to win the award, it will be impossible to know if he did so from a place of pure analysis or if bias clouded his judgement.

It's possible that the controversy over Brady's vote will make him one-and-done in the AP's NFL awards selection process, and they'll rescind his vote ahead of the 2025 season. It's easy enough to understand why folks are questioning how he was allowed to have a vote in the first place, however.