With six wins in their last eight games, the Denver Broncos are surging toward a possible playoff berth, something that seemed improbable just two months ago.
They will play the New England Patriots on Christmas Eve, and one figures they should win without too much trouble given how awful New England has been this year.
One subplot regarding the Broncos this season has been a couple of incidents between quarterback Russell Wilson and head coach Sean Payton, and Wilson had an interesting reaction to a heated exchange he had with Payton that went viral, per Zac Stevens.
Russell Wilson was asked about his reaction to Sean Payton’s heated exchange with him going viral.
He said he didn’t pay attention to that:
“I was there.”
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) December 20, 2023
The exchange occurred during Saturday’s game between Denver and the Detroit Lions, which Denver lost, 42-17.
Wilson, who has been playing much better this year than in 2022 when he struggled mightily, had a lackluster performance on Saturday, completing 18 of 32 pass attempts for 223 yards and a touchdown pass.
Near the end of the third quarter, Denver got deep into the red zone with a fresh set of downs but failed to score a touchdown, which is when the heated exchange occurred.
Afterward, Payton claimed he was upset about an offsides penalty against right guard Quinn Meinerz that negated a rushing touchdown and not Wilson, and he even told a reporter that what he yelled at Wilson was not anyone else’s 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
After playing the Patriots this weekend, the Broncos will have two winnable games versus the Los Angeles Chargers, who are without starting QB Justin Herbert, and the Las Vegas Raiders, who are 6-8.
By winning out, they would give themselves a strong chance at making the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season.
NEXT: Russell Wilson Sends A Warning To The Rest Of The NFL
