Were you shocked the Broncos let the clock run last night? So was Peyton Manning

Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos lost their first game of the season last night, after a field goal attempt in the final seconds of the game missed its mark.

One reason why the game came down to that 64-yard attempt is that new Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett let the clock run down on fourth-down-and-five instead of either calling a timeout right away to prepare for the kick or going for the first down.

Hackett’s controversial decision spawned hundreds of tweets from NFL fans and analysts, who couldn’t believe he would let precious seconds slip away while still in command of three timeouts.

Former Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was perhaps the most incredulous. During the “Manningcast” broadcast of the Broncos-Seahawks game on ESPN2, he looked as if Hackett’s failure to call a timeout was causing him physical pain.

“We got three timeouts. I might use one right here. ... Let’s talk about this one. ... I think we should call timeout, like, now,” he said, with an agonized expression.

After the game, Hackett explained his decision to go for the field goal in an interview with 9News Sports Denver.

“We weren’t moving the ball that efficiently at that time. ... I wanted to be sure we got to guarantee ourselves a chance to win the game,” he said. “I thought (Brandon McManus) had enough leg.”