Coach Sean Payton quit on the team

Instead of throwing a red flag, Teflon Sean threw in the towel. That part wasn’t Wilson’s fault.

Arrogant. Prickly. Defensive. Petty. Paranoid. But who knew Sean Payton was a quitter, too?

“They were close. The problem is, they were right at that (borderline),” the Broncos coach said of the challenge flags that were apparently too heavy for the wee man to hurl Saturday night at Ford Field.

“You know, when you start challenging spots, it becomes difficult. The frustrating part of the sequence was the next (fourthdown) run. We’ll leave it at that.” No. No, we won’t.

The frustrating part of the sequence was that the Broncos scored a touchdown three times, down 28-7 against playoff-bound Detroit, and came away with all of three points to show for it.

The frustrating part of the sequence is that even if Javonte Williams’ knee was down on third-and-goal from the 1 before he broke the plane, it shouldn’t have mattered. Because Jaleel Mclaughlin was already in for a score on a second-and-goal from the 9 on the play immediately prior.

The frustrating part of the sequence is that rather than challenging either of those borderline and reviewable moments, Payton was more concerned with going all mama badger on Russell Wilson in front of a national television audience.

The frustrating part of the sequence is that after a bogus offsides penalty on guard Quinn Meinerz turned multiple touchdowns into fourth-and-goal at the Lions 5, Teflon Sean, down 21 to a good team, elected to kick a meaningless 23-yard field goal.

The frustrating part of the sequence is that, although Payton had 15 minutes and change left to play with, instead of throwing a red flag, the man threw in the towel. With his 7-6 team in the middle of a playoff chase.

The frustrating part of the sequence is that Payton’s Obi Wan Kenobi got absolutely lapped by Dan Campbell’s Anakin Skywalker.

Literally, in most cases. The 7-7 Broncos are brash but blemished, the sort of team the AFC elite are secretly rooting to see crash the party as a No. 7 seed because of nights just like the one that fried our retinas in the Motor City.

Because what kryptonite is to Superman, speed is to the Broncos. It’s the NFL’S worst-kept secret: The Orange & Blue can bang with any roster in the circuit. But, Lord help ‘em, they can’t keep up with the swifter ones. If the Dolphins are a Jaguar, the Lions are a Lambo, especially on Ford Field’s fast track.

“Listen, we knew they had good speed,” Payton said. “But certainly we hoped to play better.”