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Analyst: Broncos HC Holding Grudge Against Steelers QB

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson will be at the center of storylines in Week 2.

Stephen Thompson

Sep 17, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks with quarterback
Sep 17, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks with quarterback / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
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PITTSBURGH -- As Russell Wilson moved on from the Denver Broncos, it seemed both sides were ready to leave a pair of underwhelming seasons in the past but NBC Sports NFL analyst Chris Simms believes there will be some lingering unfriendly feelings in Denver when the Pittsburgh Steelers and Wilson visit in Week 2.

Simms believes Broncos head coach Sean Payton will want to not just win but beat Wilson and the Steelers definitively in that matchup to bring some closure to a sour ending.

“Never easy playing in Denver. You know, Sean Payton’s gonna want to make a point there and go, ‘Wait, I’m not gonna let the guy that I wasted all this salary cap on, and moved on from, and had to waste all this time talking about and blah, blah, blah. I don’t want him to come in here and win that game,’" Simms said. "I know Sean Payton. He’s chippy. He’s certainly not gonna want that. Definitely not.”

Wilson left Denver amid reports that his relationship with Payton had soured to the point that the head coached benched him and the team eventually ate more than $35 million of his current salary to release Wilson. He then signed with the Steelers on a $1.2 million deal that allowed his new team to make some other key additions in free agency.

The Steelers and Wilson will face off with the new-look Broncos and rookie quarterback Bo Nix, Wilson's replacement, in Week 2 for a game that promises to be one of the more anticpated matchups of that weekend.

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper. He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press. During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general. 

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