The Denver Broncos finished the 2022 campaign with a win over the playoff-bound Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, capping a 5-12 season.
We will take a look at two studs from the game, as well as a studs-and-duds seasonal recap.
Stud: Defense
As in many of the games in 2022, the Broncos’ defense came through in big situations. Denver forced two fumbles, and let’s be honest, should have had a third turnover from rookie defensive back Ja’Quan McMillian. The defense protected the lead, played the Chargers’ starters close for three quarters, limiting the rushing attack to 59 yards on 22 carries, and Los Angeles quarterbacks to less than 300 yards passing.
Stud: Russell Wilson
In what might be one of his best games of the season, quarterback Russell Wilson shined during the final game of the season. It certainly didn’t look like it would end up that way. Until the 26 second mark in the second quarter, Wilson had started 2-of-9 for a paltry 13 yards. On the final Broncos drive of the first half, Wilson doubled his completions to that point, completing three passes on the quickest touchdown drive of the season. Wilson finished 13-of-24 for 283 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. It was just the second time all season Wilson threw for three scores.
Could this be the beginning of a turnaround? Time will tell.
2022 Studs and Duds in review
The Broncos’ 2022 season began with hope. A new ownership group, a new franchise quarterback, a young head coach and staff, along with several new free agent additions. A tough opening game loss at Seattle was followed by close wins against the Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers. Things took a turn during the latter half of September through October, when Denver lost four in a row, three of those games by one score. The Broncos flew across the Atlantic, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. It was almost 50 days until Denver won again, and just shy of 85 days from the 49ers victory (September 25) until the Broncos’ next win on American soil, against the Arizona Cardinals (December 18). A Christmas meltdown led to then-head coach Nathaniel Hackett’s firing after 15 games, the shortest non-interim head coaching tenure in franchise history. Interim coach Jerry Rosberg led Denver to two close games against the top two AFC West foes in the Kansas City Chiefs and Angeles Chargers.
We examine several studs and duds from this season.
Stud: Defense
The Broncos defense, with few exceptions, held opponents at bay for much of the season. The unit boasted its lone Pro Bowl selection, cornerback Patrick Surtain, and behind defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, was considered one of the top defenses in the NFL. Safety Justin Simmons led the team in interceptions (6) and linebacker Alex Singleton emerged as one of the top tacklers in the league, finishing the season with 163 tackles.
They kept Denver in almost every game, giving quarterback Russell Wilson and the offense chances to win late.
Dud: Offense
The Broncos offense seemed to sputter at every turn, turning in the NFL’s lowest-scoring offense in 2022. Russell Wilson was mocked for much of the season for barely throwing more touchdowns than he has bathrooms in his Colorado home, and the red zone offense seemed less potent than that. Should the offense have scored at least 18 points in all of their games, Denver would be in the playoffs. The offense’s struggles were so frustrating, a three-to-seven-point deficit was almost cause for turning off games, in part because the offense just could not score. Hopefully, the last two games of 2022, where the Broncos scored 24 and 31 points respectively, become more the norm, rather than the outlier.
Stud: Interim coach Jerry Rosberg
Interim head coach Jerry Rosberg was not even on the staff chart to begin 2022. Rosberg was brought in to help coach Nathaniel Hackett with game management early in the season. After Hackett’s firing, Rosberg led the Broncos against two playoff teams in K.C. and L.A. Under his leadership, Denver put up two close games against the best in the West, winning one and losing a close one. Rosberg’s success have many looking forward to 2023, rather than covering their heads with paper bags.
Dud: Injuries
The Broncos caught the NFL’s worst case of the injury bug in 2022. At the end of the season, nearly every member of the starting offense had missed time due to injury, with some of the biggest blows happening early in the season. Before a game was even played, receiver Tim Patrick suffered a torn ACL, ending his season before it began. Heralded running back Javonte Williams and offensive cornerstone Garret Bolles also suffered season-ending injuries. Justin Simmons also missed time with injury, free agent signee Randy Gregory missed significant time on injured reserve before coming back and ultimately finishing the season on IR. Tight end Greg Dulcich was just beginning to come into his own before suffering a season-ending injury himself.
The most-injured team in the NFL is in the process of re-evaluating their health and nutritional standards, in the hopes that this type of epidemic never happens again.
What's next?
Unfortunately for the Denver Broncos, they conclude the 2022 season with far more questions than answers.
The first order of business for the Walton-Penner ownership group will be to hire a new head coach in what is certain to be a high-profile search focused on the biggest names in both NFL and NCAA circles. This new leader must be focused on overhauling a broken offense and fixing quarterback Russell Wilson while trying to maintain continuity in one of the NFL’s best defenses.
The ownership group has demonstrated that they are willing to spend big bucks on the team’s facilities, and seem prepared to shell out top dollar for the best of the best. Can they put together a rebound worthy of national attention in 2023? They have a few months to figure out the direction the team is going to go.
