Earlier this week I wrote about how Russell Wilson might not be long for the starting world under Sean Payton. With the Broncos struggling, and Wilson’s play late in games continuing to decline, it’s not beyond the realm of possibilities he could be benched – especially following his game-losing fumble against the Jets.
Unfortunately, Wilson did himself no favors on Thursday night in a divisional showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs. Last season, the Broncos were defined by a stellar defense being letdown by a stagnant offense. Through five weeks this year, the script was flipped as a decent offense was being undone by a defense that couldn’t stop a nosebleed.
On Thursday night, things went back to normal. And by normal, I mean how things were in 2022. The much-maligned Denver defense held Patrick Mahomes and Co. to 19 points in Arrowhead, while the Russell Wilson-led offense only scored eight points and 197 total yards.
Wilson was 13-of-22 passing for 95 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His 95 yards is now the third lowest passing output of his career, behind only 93 yards in a 21-12 win over the Cowboys in 2017, and 72 yards in a 21-7 over the Vikings in 2018.
In fairness to Wilson, the Broncos receivers struggled to get open all night long. But when teams sign a quarterback to a five-year extension worth nearly $245 million dollars – which hasn’t kicked in, by the way – they expect said-quarterbacks to overcome obstacles like underperforming wide receivers. The quarterback on the other team certainly has this year.
Ultimately, Denver’s issues with the Chiefs extend far beyond Wilson’s struggles. The Broncos have now lost 16-straight games to Kansas City. The last time Denver beat the Chiefs was September 17th, 2015. Peyton Manning was the quarterback, Barack Obama was in the White House, and the Force hadn’t awakened for Star Wars, as Episode VII was still nearly three months away from releasing.
But so far, Russell Wilson has yet to prove he is the answer to the Broncos’ ongoing issues, as they have now lost 16 of his now 21 starts in Denver. After last night’s performance, there may not be many more starts in his future in the Mile High City unless something drastically improves.
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