Another scrutinized offensive offsides penalty led to a furious Sean Payton yelling at Russell Wilson on the Broncos sideline during their loss to the Lions on Saturday.
Six days after Kadarius Toney’s offensive offsides penalty cost the Chiefs a chance at a late comeback, the Broncos had a touchdown wiped out late in the third quarter when guard Quinn Meinerz was called for the same infraction on a fourth-and-goal touchdown run by fullback Michael Burton as Denver trailed 28-7.
The Broncos were forced to settle for a 23-yard field goal and ultimately lost, 42-17.
Payton was fuming after the penalty and screamed at Wilson following the play.
Asked after the game about being animated on the sideline, Payton said, “I was upset about the call, that’s all. Simple,” and added he was not upset with Wilson.
“What I talk with Russell about is none of your business,” Payton said.
Wilson said he thinks Payton still believes in him.
“Yeah, I mean, of course,” Wilson said, according to ProFootballTalk. “I think the biggest thing is we’re trying to score a touchdown there. I think we all want to score there. I think that’s our focus and that’s — you want a coach that’s passionate. We want players that are too, and everything else. And so, we wanted to score a touchdown. I think my biggest thing is always trying to focus on the next play and unfortunately, those few plays, we didn’t get the touchdowns there, so that was the only unfortunate part about that part.”
The loss was a crushing one for the Broncos, who fell to 7-7 and are among a crowded field of teams vying for wild-card spots.
The Bengals and Colts both improved to 8-6 with wins on Saturday and hold the sixth and seventh seeds, respectively.
The Texans and Bills are each 7-6, while the Steelers fell to 7-7 with Saturday’s loss in Indianapolis.
Wilson, 35, has 2,832 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions in his second year with the Broncos, who started this season 1-5 before winning five straight.
