If Broncos want to save season, Payton should apologize to Wilson

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Russell Wilson need to get back on the same page.

Or it could be too late to save this season.

And that should start with an apology, preferably a public one, from Payton to Wilson.

By now, you’ve probably seen the Payton meltdown on Wilson in Detroit. The man in charge of the Broncos claims it was because he was upset with the refs. Very few people are buying that excuse.

With Denver down 28-7 to the Lions, the Broncos had three chances to score a touchdown. It looked like both Jaleel McLaughlin and Javonte Williams found the end zone, but the line judge marked each play just short. On fourth down, fullback Michael Burton broke the plane, but a bogus offsides call on Quinn Meinerz took the points off the board.

Payton, down 21, inexplicably kicked a field goal and lost his mind on Wilson. It wasn’t his finest moment as a head coach. First, for not throwing the challenge flag on second-down or third-down. And also, a temper tantrum on the quarterback is never a good look.

As Colin Cowherd pointed out on Monday, this could be Payton laying the groundwork to move on from Wilson this offseason. That’d be a mistake, as Wilson’s done enough to earn another season under center and without a top-5 draft pick, now isn’t the right time for the Broncos to rebuild at the most important position in sports.

But there’s still three games left this year, and Denver has to win all three to have a shot at the playoffs. Even that might not be enough, but considering they got so little help this past weekend, hopefully things start to even out. 10-7 should get you in the dance every year.

And when Payton meets the media on Wednesday, he needs to tell everyone he said sorry to Wilson. It’s the right and mature thing to do. It could also make sure the QB isn’t rattled in three games the Broncos should win. Heck, they’ll face three backup signal callers against the Patriots, Chargers and Raiders. They have to have victories in all of them.

Whether or not Payton wants Wilson as his QB in 2024 should be irrelevant. Denver’s had a special rally since their dreadful 1-5 start, and there’s still too much on the line. This town is starved for postseason football, something we haven’t experienced since the 2015 season.

Even if it’s a trip to Miami or Kansas City and a one-and-done scenario, that would show tremendous progress. The best way to get there is with Payton and Wilson on the same page. And the best way for that to happen is Payton to admit he was wrong.

The move would instill confidence in Wilson, whether he’d ever admit it or not. He moved his whole family here, he wants to end his career here, but deep down probably knows there’s a chance the Broncos cut him this spring. The only sure way to make sure that doesn’t happen is by making the playoffs.

This is not only a local story, it’s a big national one. It’s hard to envision Kyle Shanahan doing that to Brock Purdy or Andy Reid to Patrick Mahomes. That’s not normally how this works.

The easiest way to squash it is by apologizing in front of a microphone and everyone can move on. If not, the stink of the Detroit disaster could linger into Christmas Eve. It’s difficult to picture the Broncos losing to New England, but if they do, their season is over.

Now is not the time for in-fighting. Now is the time for one last winning streak from a team everyone left for dead. For the first time in a couple of months there’s some drama around the team. Payton can extinguish it real fast by doing the right and saying sorry to Wilson.