At the rate the Sean Payton Era is going with the Denver Broncos, Russell Wilson won’t be remembered as their quarterback. He’ll be remembered as a “Mile High Martyr.”
After the Broncos dropped to 1-5 after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs on “Thursday Night Football,” new coach Payton – who was expected to “fix” former Seattle quarterback Wilson and all the other things that were wrong with the 2022 Broncos – instead continued his season-long habit of accusatory finger-pointing.
What went wrong in the Broncos’ latest loss in which they only scored eight points? “To win in our league,” Payton said, “you’ve got to be better throwing the ball.”
Among the many who are slamming Payton for refusing to shoulder blame for overseeing arguable “our league’s” worst team is Robert Griffin III. Griffin wrote on social media, “The Denver Broncos aren’t playing to win football games. They are playing to win the BLAME GAME. That’s what happens when Sean Payton comes in throwing shade at his Super Bowl Winning QB Russell Wilson EVERY CHANCE HE GETS. The locker room will implode because no one in it believes the coach has their best interest at heart.”
And increasingly, while many in Seattle and beyond thought of a Wilson as “the bad guy” in the 2022 trade that sent him from Seattle, he’s being seen as a sympathetic figure.
Wilson doesn’t know how “to throw the football”? That’s what Sean Payton is pinpointing as the central problem with the Broncos?
There is a level of arrogance here that seems like a more valid “central problem.” Prior to the season, Payton called out the previous coaching regime, calling its performance “the worst ever.” He publicly chastised Wilson repeatedly for issues and habits on and off the field. And now, with this over-the-too transparent effort to deflect blame? By calling Wilson out in front of the media, Payton is likely creating tension in a locker room that might be tempted to ponder who is truly “the bad guy” here.
