Broncos coach Sean Payton on Monday downplayed a sideline interaction with Russell Wilson after a game-sealing fumble from the quarterback against the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon.
Trailing 24-21 but only roughly 20 yards from field goal range in the final minute of the game, Wilson tried to escape the pocket to his left as Quincy Williams bore down on him as a free blitzer.
Instead of Wilson escaping, though, Williams knocked the ball out of his hand and Bryce Hall scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown.
As Wilson came off the field, Payton removed his headset and gestured with his hands toward the veteran quarterback.
“I don’t think I was that animated,” Payton said Monday. “Every attention to exchange or discussions I have with Russ (gets talked about). I just wanted to make sure he knew the linebacker was a free rusher, so it wasn’t as big of an exchange or big deal I think maybe as some may have thought.”
Payton earlier said the Broncos had a five-man protection and so Williams, the weak-side linebacker, was unaccounted for. Therefore, if he blitzed, Wilson should have had a hot receiver to throw to quickly.
“I thought we could have been a little stronger at tackle,” Payton said. “The pocket got collapsed a few times. (Wilson) made some things happen, and yet with the zone coverage we were seeing, those immediate throws or progressions were slower because of the coverage. So cleaning that up and understanding where we are in the pocket is going to be important.”
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