Robert Griffin III believes something unusual is going on with Sean Payton and Russell Wilson — so much so that the Broncos’ locker room is bound to “implode.”
The ESPN analyst’s instincts went off after he experienced something similar during his quarterback career when his knee injury was mismanaged by Washington head coach Mike Shanahan.
Griffin believes Payton is sabotaging Wilson after the Broncos lost 19-8 to the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.
“The Denver Broncos aren’t playing to win football games,” Griffin posted on X. “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.”
Payton was seen screaming at Wilson after the quarterback’s fumble sealed last week’s 31-21 loss to the Jets.
And Payton did make somewhat pointed remarks about Wilson following a Week 2 to the Commanders.
“Russ has to be sharper with getting the play out, and then we have to look at how much we have in,” said Payton, who was critical of the team’s failures as a whole that day. “If we need to wristband it, we will.”
The Broncos dropped to 1-5 to open the season after Wilson completed 13-of-22 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown against the rival Chiefs.
Wilson also threw two interceptions, was sacked four times and several missed open targets.
For Thursday’s game, he held a passer rating of 46.6.
The quarterback came into the game, holding the offense together with 66.9 percent completion rate for 1,210 yards and 11 touchdown passes with only two interceptions.
Surprisingly, it was the last-ranked Denver defense that showed some fight against the Chiefs, forcing the defending Super Bowl champions to settle for four field goals and one touchdown.
Harrison Butker’s four field goals, including a 52-yard kick with 1:55 left in the game to maintain the lead, was the difference in the Broncos’ 16th straight loss in the series as the Chiefs improved to 5-1.
After three years with Washington, Griffin went on to have a short stint with the Browns in 2016 followed by three years in Baltimore, where he retired in 2021 after playing behind Lamar Jackson.
Griffin was honored with the 2012 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and was also given a Pro Bowl nod in his first season.
The Broncos will face the Packers (2-3) next in Week 7 on Sunday evening, who also beat the Bears in one of their few wins of the season.
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