1. There was a heavy case of karma on display in South Florida on Sunday.
The Dolphins’ juggernaut offense put on a historic performance and embarrassed the Broncos in a 70–20 win.
This was a juicy turn of events for NFL fans thanks to new Denver coach Sean Payton, who is now 0–3 after doing a lot of talking.
I was already rooting against Payton because I get annoyed with NFL coaches who act like they’re running an army and do things like make a big stink out of banning hats and sunglasses as if hats have anything to do with winning or losing.
What head coach Sean Payton doesn't want to see during the #broncos 1st preseason game Friday after starters are pulled:
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) August 8, 2023
- Uniforms off after you're done playing
- No sunglasses
- No Gilligan hats (moving forward this is my term for bucket hats)
- No interviews during the game
But there are much bigger issues at hand with Payton.
For starters, when he was at Fox last year, he said that he believed Tua Tagovailoa would eventually get benched for Teddy Bridgewater.
Here's now-Broncos coach Sean Payton, 375 days ago, saying Tua Tagovailoa would be benched for Teddy Bridgewater starting a QB controversy for the Miami Dolphins.
— Adam Silverstein (@SilversteinAdam) September 24, 2023
Dolphins 70 | Broncos 20 pic.twitter.com/ZZVywSy61f
I would be willing to bet money Tua and the Dolphins knew about that quote before going into Sunday’s game in which Tua was 23 of 26 for 309 yards and four touchdowns.
Then there was Payton’s comments about the Jets over the summer, when he criticized New York for “trying to win the offseason.” The Jets lost their starting quarterback and still have more wins than Denver.
Sean Payton was foreshadowing their game against the Dolphins in the offseason. Not bad. pic.twitter.com/aMhX9Ot4HJ
— Timo Riske (@PFF_Moo) September 25, 2023
And, then, of course, there was Payton’s scathing comment about former Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett with Payton calling Hackett’s one season in Denver “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.”
How much did NFL fans relish this piece of karma for Payton on Sunday? So much so that "Kevin James" was trending on Twitter because James played Payton in that movie everyone said was awful about Payton coaching kids during his suspension from the NFL after Bountygate.
When you're Sean Payton and you're 0-3 and your team just gave up 70 points in a game lmaooo pic.twitter.com/g48acCkSV0
— Barry (@BarryOnHere) September 25, 2023
The Sean Payton the Broncos signed pic.twitter.com/OU9MsDjQRu
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 24, 2023
While some fans may enjoy seeing karma come back to bite Payton, the Broncos being a disaster of a football team is not good for the league from a television perspective.
This week, Denver plays the Bears in Chicago in a total pig of a game. The week after that, the. Broncos host the Jets in the 4:25 p.m. national window in another pig of a game. And then the week after that, the Broncos will get a full national audience on Thursday Night Football when they visit the Chiefs.
Ouch.
2. Patrick Mahomes embraced and had fun with Taylor Swift’s appearance at Arrowhead Stadium to watch Travis Kelce on Sunday.
"I heard she was in the house... so I knew I had to get the ball to Travis." @PatrickMahomes joined @ErinAndrews after the @Chiefs blow out win with Taylor Swift in the building 💪 #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/skZ98xVRCO
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 24, 2023
3. This was the single-best play from Sunday’s NFL action, courtesy of Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet.
OH MAN! @zachcharbon angry run 😡😡😡
— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2023
cc: @KyleBrandt
📺: #CARvsSEA on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UQdQ05hqXN pic.twitter.com/cfhDrAo5RW
4. And this was the best moment of Sunday’s MLB action, courtesy of Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas.
"Sorry, guys. I need to make this play real quick."
— MLB (@MLB) September 24, 2023
Miguel Rojas is mic'd up and doesn't miss a beat.
(MLB x @Casamigos) pic.twitter.com/x1PJb5jIm0
5. I can’t think of a better video to sum up everything about the New York Jets.
Jets fan was so mad his teeth fell out 😭
— PFF (@PFF) September 24, 2023
pic.twitter.com/hJTgJNgUG7
6. This latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast features a conversation with Kevin Clark, who now hosts This Is Football for ESPN and Omaha Productions.
Clark talks about why he recently made the move from The Ringer to ESPN, whether he will continue to write and how sports media has changed since COVID-19.
Other topics covered with Clark include the possible Travis Kelce–Taylor Swift romance, changes he’d like to see networks make for NFL coverage, Bill Belichick’s personality, what we know about the NFL season and much more.
Following Clark, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss Week 2 of NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube, ESPN’s curious assignments for Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, Sean McVay’s decision to kick a meaningless field goal and upset a lot of bettors and HBO’s canceling Winning Time. Plus, I make an announcement regarding Apple reviews.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Loved this from the great Kelly Clarkson over the weekend.
I was on my way to soundcheck for @iHeartRadio tonight in Vegas and was tipping this incredible woman killing some Tina Turner and then she asked me to sing and had no clue who I was, and then it hit her, and it made my day! She gives the best hugs and sings her tail off! See ya… pic.twitter.com/QU1nNVLp2w
— Kelly Clarkson 🍷💔☀️ (@kellyclarkson) September 23, 2023
