DENVER – Russell Wilson got hit by Sean Payton, but if the Denver Broncos are going to end their chances of ending an eight-year playoff drought, the veteran coach will listen to the fans.
Before that, the game management was flawed.The Broncos (7-7) rebounded from a 1-5 start that included home losses to underdogs Jimmy Garoppolo, Sam Howell and Zach Wilson while Payton was still adjusting to his new gig.
Garoppolo recovered quickly and Josh McDaniels took it. Howell has lost 10 of his last 12 starts, while Wilson has won just three.
Add to that the happy return of Nathaniel Hackett. Miami’s famous collapse, Denver trailing by 50 points and all the Broncos held, trailing 28-7 at Soldier Field and winning in Payton’s hometown.
Payton resented Hackett for overseeing one of the worst coaching jobs in NFL history, but he himself looked a little rusty after one year of coaching.
He missed a punt at Kansas City in Week 6, called a timeout for the Broncos to field a field goal in the final minute of the first half and watched the Chiefs kick a long field goal late in the first half.
Since then, the Broncos have won five straight games to advance to the AFC playoffs, and Payton’s name has been floated as a candidate for Coach of the Year.
However, many noted that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph did the heavy lifting at the time.
Then came three road games in 13 days, a win over the fading Los Angeles Chargers sandwiched around losses to the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions in which Payton’s play-calling and decision-making raised some eyebrows.
Payton steered away from the run-based formula that fueled Denver’s winning streak when the Broncos traveled to Houston. But the Broncos trailed 22-17 and were driving for the winning touchdown at the end when Payton called a pair of timeouts with the clock stopped.
The first one came right after the 2-minute warning and the second one with 35 seconds left following an incompletion on third down. Payton defended those timeouts as necessary strategically but they robbed Russell Wilson of the chance to hand the ball off after Denver used its final timeout with 23 seconds left.
Wilson went to the air three times from the Texans 8 against a defense flooding the end zone, and his third-down throw to tight end Lucas Krull was intercepted.
Their 42-17 loss to the Detroit Lions on Saturday night featured an even stranger goal-line sequence in which Payton twice declined to throw his challenge flag when it appeared Denver had scored, then opted for a meaningless field goal while trailing by three touchdowns after a fourth-down TD run was wiped out by a dubious offensive offside flag.
While his field-goal unit took the field to the chagrin of fans and the surprise of the broadcast crew, Payton hollered at Wilson in a sideline blowout that remains shrouded in mystery.
On Monday, Payton again defended not throwing the red flags and to go for a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 5 after Michael Burton’s TD run was negated by an offensive offside call.
Payton said he had a good look at Javonte Williams coming up short on third-and-goal from the 1. On the previous play, Jaleel McLaughlin might have crossed the plane on a 9-yard run but was ruled down just shy of the goal line, as well.
Payton said he didn’t have a good track record challenging those types of calls and besides, “we’re sitting at the half-yard line and I’m thinking we have a good goal-line plan in this game.”
Payton was still coy Monday when asked why he was so upset with his QB.
On Monday, Payton again defended not throwing the red flags and to go for a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 5 after Michael Burton’s TD run was negated by an offensive offside call.
Payton said he had a good look at Javonte Williams coming up short on third-and-goal from the 1. On the previous play, Jaleel McLaughlin might have crossed the plane on a 9-yard run but was ruled down just shy of the goal line, as well.
Payton said he didn’t have a good track record challenging those types of calls and besides, “we’re sitting at the half-yard line and I’m thinking we have a good goal-line plan in this game.”
Payton was still coy Monday when asked why he was so upset with his QB.
After the game, Payton grew testy when pressed about it, saying, “Listen, what I talk to Russell about is none of your business.”
Actually, when the franchise’s future depends on the relationship between coach and quarterback, who collectively cost the franchise three first-round draft picks and three second-round selections, whatever Payton angrily hollers at Wilson about on the sideline is no private matter.
It’s top of mind for fans who have invested both their emotions and their money in a team that is closer to the playoffs than at any time since their Super Bowl 50 celebrations but who find themselves watching postseason hopes fading fast through curious calls, dubius decisions and sideline squabbling.
