Future Hall of Fame quarterback Russell Wilson just has not been the same player in his first season with the Denver Broncos. The nine-time Pro Bowler entered Monday night’s Week 6 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers having thrown all of four touchdown passes in five games.
Wilson is leading a Broncos offense that ranked dead last in the NFL in scoring (15.0 points per game) and eighth in passing heading into Week 6.
At least initially, it seemed as if the Broncos had turned things around under head coach Nathaniel Hackett. Wilson completed each of his first 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown en route to helping Denver to a 10-0 lead against the Chargers in Southern California. That included a great touchdown pass to tight end Greg Dulcich.
Just when it seemed like things were trending in the right direction, Wilson and his league-worst offense started to struggle big time.
Wilson ended the evening completing five of his final 18 passes for 62 yards without a touchdown or an interception. He took a total of four sacks, struggled to get the ball down the field and shrunk when it counted the most.
The end result was a 19-16 overtime victory for the Chargers in yet another ugly nationally televised NFL game thus far this season.
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Now 2-4 on the season, Denver has scored a total of 91 points in six games. Wilson has a total of five touchdown passes in six games.
After performing well in the first two quarters, the second half was a completely different story for Wilson and his Broncos. Los Angeles had the lead for the very first time at the end of the game when Dustin Hopkins nailed a 39-yard field goal to win it in overtime.
All the while, the Broncos’ offense went dark. Wilson completed a total of three passes on third down. He was sacked four times in these scenarios.
Over the course of their final seven possessions, the Broncos gained 72 yards on 30 plays. Their only score during this span came after Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was intercepted at Los Angeles’ 30-yard line. Denver did not gain a single yard before settling for a field goal and a 16-13 lead.
- Russell Wilson stats (2022): 58.6% completion, 1,442 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT, 83.4 QB rating, 20 sacks
That’s just not going to cut it. Considered one of the best quarterbacks in modern NFL history, we’ve seen Wilson regress big time in his first season with the Broncos. And those watching Monday night’s game had their reactions.