The Denver Broncos hired former Super Bowl champion coach Sean Payton to right their ship after a disastrous five-win campaign in 2022.
The early returns on that investment, however, haven’t been great.
The Broncos fell to 1-5 on the season last Thursday night in a 19-8 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in a game that never felt that close. Quarterback Russell Wilson posted one of the worst games of his Broncos tenure, completing 13 of his 22 pass attempts for 95 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Chiefs also sacked him four times.
Many NFL observers are wondering if, given the 10-day layoff, Payton might make a major move against Wilson by benching him. He would risk imploding the locker room, according to ESPN football analyst Robert Griffin III.
“The Denver Broncos aren’t playing to win football games,” Griffin posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “They are playing to win the BLAME GAME. That’s what happens when Sean Payton comes in throwing shade at his Super Bowl Winning QB Russell Wilson EVERY CHANCE HE GETS. The locker room will implode because no one in it believes the coach has their best interest at heart.”
Griffin experienced a similar instance in Washington, under then-coach Mike Shanahan, who Griffin alleges mismanaged his knee injury.
[@RGIII]
