Analysis: Sean Payton's curious calls, sideline spat with Russell Wilson have Broncos on the brink

Updated Dec. 19, 2023 6:00 a.m. ET

Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — It was Russell Wilson who got a tongue-lashing from Sean Payton, but if the Denver Broncos blow their chance to end an eight-year playoff drought, it's the veteran head coach who will be getting an earful from fans over the same kinds of game management miscues that plagued his predecessor.

The Broncos (7-7) have engineered a remarkable recovery from their 1-5 start that featured losses at home to underdogs quarterbacked by Jimmy Garoppolo, Sam Howell and Zach Wilson while Payton was still settling into his new gig.

Garoppolo was soon benched and Josh McDaniels fired. Howell has lost 10 of his last 12 starts and Wilson has won just three other games.

Throw in Nathaniel Hackett's happy homecoming, the famous Miami meltdown in which Denver lost by 50 points and all the Broncos were left with was a comeback after trailing 28-7 at Soldier Field to win in Payton's hometown.

Payton famously castigated Hackett for overseeing one of the worst coaching jobs in NFL history only to show more than a little rust himself from his year away from coaching

He lost track of downs at Kansas City in Week 6 and called a timeout with the Broncos about to punt the ball in the final minute of the first half, then watched the Chiefs kick a long field goal as the half expired.

After that, the Broncos reeled off five consecutive wins to jump into the AFC playoff picture and Payton's name was bandied about as a Coach of the Year candidate although many have pointed out that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph was the one doing the heavy lifting during the about-face.

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.

“The anger and the frustration in that sequence comes from the fourth-down call and the touchdown and then what was later called a penalty,” Payton said. “And then all of a sudden we’re sitting at fourth-and-let’s-call-it-6 instead of fourth-and-a-half-a-yard.

“So, we’re trying to get to within two scores.”

The field goal made it 28-10, leaving Denver with a three-score deficit, leading some to suggest Payton didn't reach for the red challenge flags because he was too busy throwing up the white surrender flag.

Payton’s tongue-lashing of Wilson remains a puzzle because the quarterback didn’t seem at fault for any of the three non-touchdowns in that goal-line sequence.

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.

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