Payton not worried about controversy, ‘the longer you go, the less you discuss penalties’

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has been on the wrong side of plenty of controversial calls throughout his career.

On Sunday night against the Rams, perhaps one went his way.

Late in the game with Denver trailing 26-23, L.A. cornerback Josh Wallace appeared to pick off Broncos QB Bo Nix. But Wallace was whistled for defensive pass interference against Pat Bryant and Nix eventually punched in the game-winning touchdown.

It brought back memories of the 2018 NFC Championship Game, when Payton’s Saints lost to the Rams after a blatant DPI wasn’t flagged.

On a conference call Monday, Payton was asked if last night’s controversy reminded him of that infamous no-call.

“Well this is years later, so a completely different game, different players. I think there were two calls really that I guess that a lot of people were looking at, one over on Pat Bryant’s side and then the one that was a little bit later,” Payton said. 

And the head coach has proper perspective on the whole issue, knowing neither he nor anyone else is going to change the official’s minds on a big call.

“The longer you get in this thing, the less you discuss penalties. You just got to go out and play. I’ve yet to see one get changed either way. You hope that when the game’s over with, the season’s over with, you’re on the positive side of the ledger,” Payton said.

That doesn’t mean there’s not teaching points on different types of flags that are thrown throughout a game.

“I focus a little bit more on the penalties that we can control relative to pre-snap, post-snap, those types of things, but that’s really where I sit with it,” Payton said.

A lot of Rams fans are whining on social media, but perhaps they should be more worried about their team blowing a 16-0 halftime lead and letting the Broncos score 30 points in a wild victory over the final two quarters.

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