DENVER — Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton drew attention when the broadcast showed him yelling at Russell Wilson during Saturday's loss to the Detroit Lions.
The Broncos had just settled for a field goal despite appearing to score twice before having a short plunge up the middle by fullback Michael Burton wiped off the board by a controversial offsides penalty.
That left the Broncos down 28 to 10 near the end of the 3rd-quarter of the eventual 42-17 loss.
Cameras turned to Payton, who was extremely hot after the drive, yelling at the officials before appearing to turn his ire toward his quarterback.
Many took to social media wondering why Payton was mad at Wilson, with one possible explanation being he snapped the ball with 17 seconds left on the play clock after one of the controversial no-touchdown calls, preventing Payton from challenging the play.
However, when asked about the spat postgame, Payton only said that he was mad at officials for the controversial penalty.
"I was upset at the call," he said. "That's all. Simple.”
One reporter then asked if Payton was mad at Russell, saying that it appeared he was.
"No I was upset at the call," Payton said.
When asked again about his exchange with Wilson, Payton refused to elaborate.
“Listen, what I talk to Russell about is none of your business,” Payton said.
“Yeah, I mean, of course,” Wilson told reporters, according to Pro Football Talk. “I think the biggest thing is we’re trying to score a touchdown there. I think we all want to score there. I think that’s our focus and that’s — you want a coach that’s passionate. We want players that are too, and everything else. And so, we wanted to score a touchdown. I think my biggest thing is always trying to focus on the next play and unfortunately, those few plays, we didn’t get the touchdowns there, so that was the only unfortunate part about that part.”
Wilson elaborated on sequence that ended in a disappointing field goal.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously, we wanted to score that drive,” Wilson said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t. I think, more than anything else, we’re just frustrated we didn’t score there, because we were going to make that 28-14. Obviously, they end up stopping us, and that was the really, honestly, the disappointing part, because of that play where [fullback Michael] Burton got in. I think that’s just we’re a little frustrated.”
Despite the loss, the 7-7 Broncos playoff hopes remain alive. They play three backup quarterbacks to close the season against the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders.
Finishing the season 3-0 will likely lead to postseason play for the Broncos for the first time since winning the Super Bowl in 2015.
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