One of the more intriguing matchups of the 2024 season will be the grudge match between Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson and Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton. The two worked together for the 2023 season, and it was a rocky relationship pretty much from the start. Payton made it clear that his locker room would function in a certain way, and Wilson receiving special treatment did not fit into that vision regardless of the team’s massive investment in him. One of Payton’s first moves was barring Wilson’s personal QB coach Jake Heaps from the team facility, for example.
Fast forward to the latter part of the season, and Wilson was reportedly asked to waive some injury guarantees in his contract or otherwise be benched. Mind you, these events took place right after the Broncos defeated the Kansas City Chiefs prior to rattling off three more wins following the bye for a five-game win streak.
When it became clear the Broncos weren’t making the playoffs, Wilson was benched for the final two games of the season, and that marked the end of his era in Denver. Wilson and Payton have taken some veiled shots at each other over the last several months now, so you can bet that both parties will show up on Sept. 15 for the Steelers-Broncos game in Week 2 with every reason to want to stick it to the opposition.
Former Broncos RB Phillip Lindsay appeared on Denver’s 104.3 The Fan on Thursday to discuss the Broncos’ schedule, and had the Steelers game circled as one of the toughest home matchups the Broncos will face in 2024.
“Yeah, I think there’s a lot that goes into that game. I think that you got Russell Wilson coming back here,” Lindsay said. “Sean Payton may try to outcoach himself. Bo Nix, his second game if he’s a starter. Our first home game. There’s lots of obstacles that Bo’s gonna have to go through, that Sean’s gonna have to go through. And you’re playing against a coach that has been doing this for a long time, just like Sean, but he’s more established ’cause he’s been with the same team forever. So I think that’s going to be the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Could Payton get a little too cute with his play calling and his game plan because of the extra motivation surrounding the Russell Wilson revenge game? Lindsay seems to think that could be a factor. He will be working with a quarterback presumably making his second-career start, and his first time in front of a home crowd in the regular season. After trading Jerry Jeudy, the Broncos’ WR room is a work in progress, and it seems unlikely their unit will have properly gelled just two weeks into the season.
Mike Tomlin has a fantastic record against rookie quarterbacks dating back to 2007, but that hasn’t held up quite as well lately. He dropped two games to rookies last season with C.J. Stroud and Dorian Thompson-Robinson beating the Steelers.
The Steelers also have some obstacles of their own to clear during this game. It will be their second-straight road game to open the season, and they will be playing in Denver, which is a tough place to play due to the elevation and lower levels of oxygen in the air. It will also be early in the season for a Steelers offense dealing with a completely new offensive system, multiple new starters on the offensive line, and a different group of receivers that is still being worked out ahead of the season.
But as Lindsay noted, the Steelers might be better prepared for the early rigors of the season than most teams are.
“That’s a tough organization,” Lindsay said. “They’re the only team out there literally having tackle football during practice.”
Both Wilson and Payton have a lot to prove in this Week 2 matchup. Which side is going to rise to the occasion?
