For those who looked at what Russell Wilson did in his first six starts as a member of the Denver Broncos and wondered if another quarterback would do better, you got your answer on Sunday.
With Wilson sidelined to a hamstring injury Sunday against the New York Jets, backup Brett Rypien proceeded to lead Denver to a total of nine points in yet another loss for the struggling Broncos.
While Wilson looked like a shell of his former self prior to going down to injury, Rypien was never going to be the answer. He completed 24-of-46 passes for 225 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception.
If there’s any good news for Broncos fans, it’s the comments already-embattled head coach Nathaniel Hackett made after the game. He believes that Wilson is “trending in the right direction” to play next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
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Not really. Denver finds itself at 2-5 on the season and three games behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West. It has scored a total of 108 points in seven games this season. The Broncos totaled 99 points in the six games Wilson started prior to missing Sunday’s outing. Hackett was clearly frustrated following yet another brutal showing.
“I’m sick of being up here saying the same thing over and over again. The opportunities are there. At some point we have to take it; there’s no excuses. We’ve been in every single game. We have to win these games. As a team, as an offense, defense, everybody. We’ve had these opportunities, we have been in these situations.”
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How bad were the Broncos offensively on Sunday? They converted 5-of-16 third-down opportunities, averaged 4.3 yards per play and scored nine points despite possessing the ball for north of 32 minutes.
The question now becomes whether Wilson has what it takes to lead Denver’s offense out of this abyss. What we’ve seen from him through the first six games of the season tells us not to be too confident.
- Russell Wilson stats (2022): 59% completion, 1,442 passing yrds, 5 TD, 3 INT, 83.4 QB rating
To put this futility into perspective, Wilson is on pace to put up career lows in completion percentage, passing yards, passing touchdowns and quarterback rating. He’s looked like a shell of his former self, a sad reality if you have followed the future Hall of Fame signal caller throughout his career.
Equally as important, it seems that the Broncos’ offensive attack has hit near disaster mode with Hackett heading things in Mile High. Melvin Gordon got the start on Sunday after seemingly requesting a trade earlier in the week. Courtland Sutton was shut down by rookie Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner. Rypien was hit six times by a Jets defense that ranked dead last in the NFL last season.
This is a long-form way of concluding that Russell Wilson’s first season in Denver could be a lost one. Returning to action after his Broncos lost at home to the Jets isn’t going to change that.