While the Denver Broncos suffered an ugly 42-17 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 15, an even uglier scene unfolded on the sidelines. In the third quarter, the cameras captured a very tense encounter between Broncos head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Russell Wilson. Payton was seen absolutely livid and screaming at Wilson. This encounter happened after the Broncos had an unsuccessful trip in the red zone. A trip that was marred with missed opportunities and even a bad call by the referees.
Needless to say, tensions reached a boiling point.
In the days that followed, both Payton and Wilson denied any deeper meaning behind the encounter. Payton even claimed that his relationship is “still good” with Wilson.
More teammates have come to the defense of Payton and Wilson. Offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey echoed similar sentiments and further downplayed the situation.
“I think it’s been completely blown out of proportion,” said McGlinchey, via Andrew Mason of Denver Sports. “Things like that happen, especially in a humungous game for us with a lot on the line.”
McGlinchey even considered the encounter to be a bit of a positive when it comes to the competitive nature of the game. Furthermore, this hasn’t caused a rift in the locker room.
“I think Russell, and especially Sean, are two of the most competitive people that you’ll ever be around, and all that is is competitive fire and frustration of certain things that go wrong, not being on the same page, or whatever it is,” McGlinchey continued. “I don’t think anybody in this locker room is looking at that as an issue, nor should they because I can’t even count how many times I’ve gotten screamed at by a coach or frustrated because you’re not doing your job to the right—mistakes happen.”
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