Late in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions, the Denver Broncos scored on three consecutive plays but the first two were ruled short of the goal line and the third one was nullified by a guard being deemed offside at the snap.
After being backed up to the five-yard line, Broncos coach Sean Payton opted to settle for a field goal while trailing by 21 points. After that sequence, NFL Network cameras captured Payton yelling at Denver quarterback Russell Wilson on the sideline.
It was a puzzling moment because Wilson did not seem to be at fault for any of the Broncos’ three non-touchdowns. Here’s a sampling of how Twitter/X reacted.
Sean Payton was livid and chewed out Russell Wilson on the sidelinepic.twitter.com/3NY1C8ptTP
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) December 17, 2023
#Broncos HC Sean Payton absolutely chewed out Russell Wilson. I feel like Payton is sometimes out of touch with modern day athletes… wdyt?#DENvsDET pic.twitter.com/KrP4VSqjv3
— Mike McDaniel (@MikMcDaniel) December 17, 2023
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
Should Russell Wilson chew out Sean Payton for not challenging any of those touchdowns?
— Matt Schubert (@MattDSchubert) December 17, 2023
Hey Sean Payton… instead of yelling at your QB, how about we throw the red flag you have in your pocket on any of those last plays.
— Rachel Vigil (@heyrachelvigil) December 17, 2023
Payton yelling at Russ for not throwing the challenge flag twice, or?
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) December 17, 2023
“Sean Payton likes Russell Wilson”
This just confirms that Russell Wilson’s days in Denver are numbered pic.twitter.com/ELf0qFKZQo
— Michael 🇲🇽 (@RespectMyCos) December 17, 2023
Payton mad at refs and Russ. #Denver7 #Broncos pic.twitter.com/u9SGWzJU1f
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) December 17, 2023
Payton yelling at Russ after he didn’t challenge the TD’s, is as effective as me yelling at the TV for Payton to challenge the TD.
— Andy Lindahl (@Andy_Lindahl) December 17, 2023
The Broncos were called for offensive offsides, wiping out a TD on 4th-and-goal.
Sean Payton was livid at the officials… and Denver QB Russell Wilson.
"Well, there is a very animated discussion. I'd say it's a one-sided discussion with his quarterback." – Kevin Harlan pic.twitter.com/k9KKcoSain
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 17, 2023
Sean Payton was giving Russell Wilson a piece of his mind on the sideline…
— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) December 17, 2023
Feels like this had to be some bottled up stuff in here too. Don’t know if Sean really wants to sign up for this for much longer one way or the other. pic.twitter.com/H7fwmjl7ma
— Mat Smith (@RealMatSmith) December 17, 2023
Sean Payton 🤝 Mike Purcell
Yelling at Russell Wilson on TV late in the season
— ThatsGoodSports (@BrandonPerna) December 17, 2023
Wow that was a crazy last play. Miners wasn’t offsides. Awful call. Sean P goes nuts on the refs and Russ. I think you still have to go for it from the 6. What does a FG do? Still down three scores and your defense isn’t playing good. What do you think #BroncosCountry
— Brandon Stokley (@bstokley14) December 17, 2023
Strange sequence in Detroit. Two straight plays looked like a Bronco broke the plane – no challenge either time by Sean Payton. Then on 4th and goal, right guard lined up with helmet (I guess) slightly across ball – field goal. And Payton winds up chewing out Russell Wilson???
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 17, 2023
All I can guess – and it's just a guess – was that Russell Wilson came off the field and dared to ask Sean Payton why he didn't challenge either goal-line play … and Sean just lost it on him. Post-game interviews will be interesting.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 17, 2023
Sean Payton is not having a good night. Coaching or otherwise.
— Mike Carmellini (@Mike_Carmellini) December 17, 2023
Some fans and pundits speculated that Payton was angry at Wilson for running a play too quickly, not giving the coach a chance to challenge a previous play. That’s just speculation, though.
After the game, Payton insisted that he was just angry about the penalty called on guard Quinn Meinerz that nullified a touchdown. When pressed about yelling at Wilson, Payton said: “Listen, what I talk to Russell about is none of your business.”
Sean Payton said when he was yelling on the sideline on the direction of Russell Wilson, he was “upset about the call,” referring to the offsides penalty, and not yelling at Wilson.
He added later, “What I talk with Russell about is none of your business.” pic.twitter.com/AxVgk9Qmiq
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) December 17, 2023
The game ended up being a frustrating night for every Bronco involved as Denver went on to lose 42-17, dropping to 7-7 on the season.
