After the Denver Broncos emerged victorious over the New York Jets 37-28 in a battle of the winless on Thursday Night Football, coach Vic Fangio wanted to make sure his team immediately returned to the locker room.
While that may seem reasonable amid a pandemic, Fangio’s instructions contained a different agenda. The 62-year-old wanted to make sure his team avoided any further extracurricular activities with the Jets, who committed six personal fouls, including three roughing the passer calls and two unnecessary roughness flags.
“There was just a couple of personal fouls there at the end and our sideline was getting pissed off about it,” Fangio said after the game. “I just wanted to avoid any confrontation at the end of the game and having it get ugly there.”
Broncos quarterback Brett Rypien, making his first career NFL start, took a couple of hard hits from the Jets near the end of the game that also seemed to upset Denver’s sideline.
Still, some Broncos and Jets players mingled near midfield once the clock hit zero. Fangio motored across the playing surface toward the tunnel to the locker room and bypassed shaking hands with Jets coach Adam Gase, whose team is 0-4 for the second consecutive season.
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.
