Russell Wilson Addresses Vicious Sideline Incident with Sean Payton

In the city famed for building motor vehicles, the Denver Broncos got their wheels blown off in a rather troublesome manner. On Saturday night in front of a primetime audience, the Detroit Lions savagely handled the Broncos to the tune of a 42-17 beatdown.

"Real quickly, we tip our hats to Detroit," Broncos head coach Sean Payton said post-game from the podium. "They kind of kicked our butts tonight."

Payton's Broncos are facing three massively winnable games in the closing weeks of the season vs. a trio of backup quarterbacks, but the magnitude of this loss caused those early-season fractures to rise back to the surface. Just how Payton bridges what appears to be a possible gap with Russell Wilson, after he unloaded so viciously on the quarterback on the sidelines, might prove tricky.

For his part, Wilson faced up to what had occurred during the controversial third-quarter series in which the Broncos appeared to score a touchdown three times inside the 10-yard line, only to have them either marked short or called back due to ticky-tack officials. Wilson's public response was massively more grown-up than Payton's sideline eruption and post-game snappings.

Payton's anger was palpable, but it was Wilson's overall calmness post-game and stoic focus on keeping faith with his head coach that stood out. If both men are to get past the unfortunate incident, Wilson's ability to quickly put it behind him will prove pivotal to the healing process.

"I think the biggest thing is we're trying to score a touchdown there," Wilson responded to a question about the cause of Payton's anger. "I think we all want to score there. I think that's our focus, and that's—you want a coach that's passionate."

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If we're being honest, the return of Denver's sweeping deficiencies on defense might have been more concerning than any internal dynamics between Payton and Wilson. Heading into the game, the Broncos liked their chances against Lions quarterback Jared Goff, but only if they could harass and hurry him.

That mostly failed to materialize, and Goff's all-too-easy rhythm from a stable pocket ensured the Lions' balanced offensive attack. Ultimately, chunk plays gashed the Broncos' previously impressive opportunistic defense — a unit that was clocked in the face and had no counterpunch this time around.

"They had good balance," Payton said post-game. "They ran the ball. I mean, one of the real good allies is if you're running the ball and you're getting to those good down-and-distances, I think that's important."

Taking it squarely on the chin and tipping his cap is somewhat of a departure for Payton. Perhaps it was simply born out of the respect he has for his close friend and Lions head coach, Dan Campbell. Payton also gave Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn his flowers post-game in the wake of his unit's dominance over the Broncos offense.

"What they did a good job with—Aaron did a good job with some sub-pressures," Payton said. "And they pressured a lot in second down, and it was effective at times. We weren't good enough and so he's done a good job with his defense. They played really good tonight. I know they were—they had struggled in the last three or four weeks, but they did a good job tonight."

All the Broncos can do at this juncture is put a plaster on their wounds and move on to the challenge the New England Patriots present to their suddenly faltering playoff hopes. Presumably, the PR mission at hand will be to tamp down the narrative that Payton is super hot with Wilson.

However, Payton's obvious frustrations did manifest in a savage outburst in front of a primetime television audience. There's no getting around that.

"Obviously, we wanted to score on that drive," Wilson said. "Unfortunately, we didn't. I think more than anything else, we were just frustrated that we didn't score there because we were going to make that 28-14. Obviously, they ended up stopping us, and really, that was honestly the disappointing part because of that play where Burton got in. I think that's just why [we were] a little frustrated."

Payton's public dressing down of his quarterback has given rise to the media's questions on the possibility of their relationship possibly fracturing. For now, at least, the Broncos' order of the day will be to rapidly brush that under the carpet and remain steadfast in talking up their still realistic playoff chances, even if this team can no longer control much of its destiny.

This presents questions on whether the Broncos are a classic case of fool's gold, but Payton and company are intent on fixing this blown tire in a hurry on the roadside as the NFL playoff caravan blasts ever onward.

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