NFL games are filled with emotion, especially at this time of the year when playoffs are just around the corner and every game becomes even more important.
The Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and his team were a little emotional after a 42-17 defeat to the Detroit Lions on Saturday night.
Payton ripped into his veteran quarterback after the Broncos failed to score on multiple occasions on the one-yard line while trailing 28-7.
Payton was caught on camera by NFL Network screaming at Russell Wilson who didn’t respond to his head coach.
The Broncos were in a good position with a first-and-goal from the Detroit nine-yard line.
Why is Sean Payton yelling at Russell Wilson here? Russ was great on that drive. Payton is the one who didn’t throw challenge flag on what looked like a TD. pic.twitter.com/CN6nxb9xPR
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) December 17, 2023
The Broncos were given two chances to cross the goal line after a pass was made to Jaleel McClaughlin, who was at the 1-yard line. First, a pass to Javonte was just short of the goal line. This forced fourth-and-1 from the one-yard line.
Referees then called center Quinn Meinerz offensive offsides after feeding the ball to fullback Michael Burton. This was a controversial call, as a replay revealed that his helmet wasn’t over the ball, and he had been onside.
Burton’s score was nullified, and the Broncos had to move back five yards. Payton decided to kick a field goal instead of going for the fourth-and-goal again to score points.
Payton was rightfully furious at officials after replays showed Meinerz’s offsides. Payton was still upset about the red zone appearance, which led him to give Wilson a stern talking-to.
Wilson did not reveal what Payton had said after the game. He also did not mind that his head coach was tearing him up in front of his teammates.
Wilson replied to reporters, “It’s obvious,” when asked whether Payton still has faith in him as Broncos quarterback. “I think that the most important thing is to try and score a touchdown here. I think that we all want to get a touchdown there. I think we are all focused on that. You want a passionate coach. We also want passionate players, as well as everything else. We wanted to score a touchdown. “I think my main thing is to always focus on the next game and unfortunately, these few plays, we did not get the touchdowns, so that was only the unfortunate part of that part.”
Wilson, the 35-year-old Super Bowl champion, is known for his ability to take the high road.
This situation is intriguing not only for Broncos fans but also for NFL fans. Some believe that even though they’ve improved in recent years, Payton and Wilson don’t get along.
The spat between the two on the sidelines is evidence of this theory. However, at 7-7 after the loss they are now focused on winning their next three games to qualify for the playoffs.
