Denver Broncos

The frustrations of an overtaxed Broncos defense boiled over into plain view on Sunday when defensive lineman Mike Purcell got in Russell Wilson’s face in the fourth quarter of Denver’s blowout loss in Carolina.

After Purcell was flagged for unnecessary roughness on a field goal in the Panthers’ 23-10 win, he stopped and yelled at Wilson as he was walking to the sideline.

Following the loss, both players said the confrontation is a non-issue.

“(That was) frustration,” Purcell said. “We wanted (to get) a spark by something, and we’re all in this together, period. That’s the quarterback of our offense, they were about to take the field, and obviously we let up a touchdown (earlier in the second half) so we weren’t doing our job. We’ve got to get a spark somewhere, and that’s all that was (was me telling him that).”

Wilson said there’s no ill-will over the exchange.

“He came off after they had kicked the field goal, and he was (upset),” Wilson said. “He just said, “We’ve got to (expletive) go, you know?’

“And I agreed… There’s no animosity at all. We’re on the same page — we’ve got to win.”

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Coach Nathaniel Hackett, who is on the hot seat due to Denver’s disappointing 3-8 record, was standing with his headset on right in front of Purcell and Wilson when the exchange occurred. But the coach said he “didn’t see it.”

“I know they are both competitors,” Hackett said.

The Broncos came into Sunday’s game with the third-ranked defense in the NFL at 17.1 points per game allowed, while the offense ranked last at 14.7 points per game. The defense had their kryptonite exposed against Carolina, getting gashed for 185 rushing yards  – 113 by D’Onta Foreman – while the offense failed to meet the measly scoring average it had set coming in.

Both Purcell and Wilson were critical of their units for their respective failures Sunday.

“We didn’t do our job on defense,” Purcell said. “Hat’s off to them. They ran the ball, and (our run defense) just wasn’t good enough.”

Wilson, meanwhile, acknowledged the defense is “out there battling every play.”

“On offense, we’ve got to be able to capitalize (on the defense’s success),” Wilson said.

Kyle Newman is a sportswriter for The Denver Post, a position he’s held since 2016. He is a beat reporter covering the Colorado Rockies and Denver Broncos in addition to covering other professional, college and high school athletics around the state. He is a member of the BBWAA and PFWA.

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