It was a compliment. At least, sandwiched as one.
It became the rallying cry of the Broncos’ downfall Sunday night.
On Wednesday, amid a long song of praises toward the now-11-4 Jacksonville Jaguars, Broncos head coach Sean Payton dropped a small nugget that the Jaguars spun into fuel on their trip to Denver.
“As you look at ’em and you watch the tape — it’s a smaller market, but you see a real good team.”
On Sunday, after soundly outplaying the Broncos in all three phases of the game in a 34-20 Jaguars win, first-year Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen threw a not-so-subtle jab at Payton in the opening minutes of his press conference.