Snow covering the field at Denver's Empower Field didn't only present a problem for the CBS Sports' AFC championship game broadcast by obscuring the yard lines. The Broncos may also have been affected by not being able to see the markers on the field. 

Denver kicker Wil Lutz missed a 45-yard field goal attempt that could have tied the score at 10 with 4:42 remaining in the fourth quarter. New England Patriots defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III tipped the ball with his fingertips, causing the kick to ricochet to the right and fall short. 

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Following the game, Lutz told reporters that the Broncos may have been lined up a yard further back than they should have been because they couldn't see the yard lines on the field. 

"My guess is, unfortunately, you couldn't see the lines on the field and honestly we might have been a yard short on the snap," Lutz said, via 9NEWS' reporter Scotty Gange. "We had to kind of estimate."

According to Lutz, the Broncos may have been lined up at the 29-yard line instead the 28. So his 45-yard field goal attempt was actually a 46-yard kick. 

But would that have mattered? Yes, one yard matters. Especially in a 3-point game. However, Taylor still blocked the kick. Would Lutz have gotten a bit more height on his kick if he had been one yard closer? Would the ball have sailed less to the left had the Broncos been on the presumably correct yard line?

Lutz actually missed two field goal attempts in Sunday's game. But his 54-yard attempt with 24 seconds remaining before halftime sailed wide right. There was no snow on the field for that kick, though the cold and windy conditions surely made a long kick even more difficult. He appearaed to have the distance, however. 

The nine-year veteran also admitted to reporters that he had never kicked in the snow before. His first six NFL seasons were with the New Orleans Saints. 

During the regular season, Lutz made 28-of-32 field-goal attempts. Two of his misses were between 40 and 49 yards, while his other two were from 50 yards or farther. He and the Broncos agreed to a three-year contract extension in November.