CINCINNATI – Broncos coach Sean Payton chose to play in overtime rather than tie the game with a two-point conversion late in Denver’s eventual 30-24 overtime loss to Cincinnati on Saturday night.

And the Broncos’ players supported their head coach’s decision.

Rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw an improbable touchdown to receiver Marvin Mims Jr. in double coverage on fourth-and-1, bringing the Broncos within 24-23.

After the game, Nix held up two fingers as if the guests wanted to take the lead. The offense stayed on the field.

All scoring plays are reviewed by the NFL, but in this case Mims’ catch was close and it took just over two minutes in real time from an official signal touchdown to the moment referee Adrian Hill announced the decision stood.

Then Denver’s field goal unit trotted onto the field.

“I don’t have any decision-making power, so I’m trying to choose two,” Nix said afterwards. “But ultimately, that’s probably not always the wisest decision. I’m glad I don’t make the decisions for our team because I would go straight out of emotion.

“They thought about it, they processed it and in this case it was better to kick a field goal and play in overtime.”

Of course that didn’t work. Denver and Cincinnati each exchanged two empty possessions before Joe Burrow finally ended the game with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins.

Part of Payton’s thought process, he said, was that Denver would clinch a playoff spot with either a win or a tie.

“We knew going into this game — we knew all of that — tie, everything that comes from it,” Payton said. “So a lot of it is your gut feeling. In terms of the flow of the shot, we moved around a little bit on offense and then weighed up the two-point conversion percentages.

“If the tie element hadn’t been there, the decision probably would have been a little easier.”

All of the Broncos’ players said they trusted Payton’s gut instinct to play for overtime.

“That’s not information I get when I’m on the field. I think it was the right decision either way,” said right tackle Mike McGlinchey. “They take the chance in overtime to fight with our playoff lives on the line and secure another chance at it.