On Thursday, players and coaches from both the Denver Broncos and New York Jets took turns taking shots at one another and I, for one, am here for it.
The Broncos and Jets are two AFC teams that play on completely opposite sides of the country and though they have both been around since the AFL days, have never had much of a rivalry.
The Broncos lead the all-time series 22-17-1 but the two teams have never really had any classic battles and of all the teams in the AFC, the Jets are one of the least common opponents when you think of Broncos rivals.
But that could soon be changing.
These two teams are set to face off at Empower Field in Week 5 on Sunday, October 8. Though that is still over two months away, each team fired off some opening silos on Thursday, which allows us to explore some things that could turn this into a fun rivalry for fans of both teams to get amped up for.
Potential Broncos-Jets rivalry: These were fighting words
When addressing the media on Thursday, Broncos coach Sean Payton made some statements that you just don't see made publicly all that often.
Payton blasted the way the team was handled last season, from the coaching job done by Nathaniel Hackett down to what was allowed in the training room. Broncos fans should be thrilled about what he said, because it shows that the team is going to be so much different this season.
Of course, public relations within the Broncos' organization may not have been too thrilled.
Of course, these comments prompted a response from the Jets, including this from head coach Robert Saleh.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh took the high road when asked about Sean Payton's comments:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 27, 2023
"If you ain't got no haters, you ain't popping. So hate away. Obviously we’re doing something right if you’ve gotta talk about us when we don’t play you until Week 5."
pic.twitter.com/xZazBAlhwP https://t.co/AS5m3UZyBu
But it didn't stop there. Billy Turner, who currently plays for the Jets and had two separate stints with the Broncos, had some harsh words for Payton as well.
This is the kind of stuff you don't often see in professional sports. Trash talk is what often builds a big fight in the UFC or a match in the WWE. Some people aren't a fan of that sort of thing, but it's what gets more people to tune in, guaranteed.
Someone is going to have to eat their words.