Russell Wilson’s tenure with the Denver Broncos has been disastrous, and was somehow encapsulated in one play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
In desperate need of a win, the 3-9 Broncos hosted the 9-3 Chiefs in an effort to earn some sort of positive takeaway from the event. Instead, they fell behind 27-0 before halftime and saw Wilson hand away six points.
This clip could not be a better representative of Wilson’s season if it was scripted by Hollywood producers. Let’s start with the fact that the Broncos are down by 20 points and facing fourth down from midfield. Not great. Then there’s the play call, which rolls Wilson out and cuts off an entire half of the field, only giving him one legitimate option on the play. Why would you want a historically great playmaker to have options? Trying to make a play, Wilson obviously gets picked, but is then planted into the ground with a stiff arm by Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr.
The icing on the cake? Travis Kelce grinning from ear to ear, as his team puts a beatdown on their AFC West rival.
It’s a brutal look for Broncos fans, but they’re probably used to that at this point.
Week after week, Denver has been dragged into stories relating to just about everything that could negatively impact a football team. Whether it be Wilson getting booed by Seattle Seahawks fans in Week 1, becoming the subject of Twitter jokes due to comments about an overseas flight, getting reamed out by his own teammate in front of a national audience, being called a ‘poser’ by a member of the media or taking shots from former teammates, there’s been no shortage of hate for the nine-time Pro Bowler this season. All of those examples came from real animosity toward the one-time MVP candidate, or reports that have painted him in a poor light.
This all came after the Broncos essentially set up the future of their franchise around Wilson, signing him to a $245 million extension after trading for him during the offseason. Maybe things will get better in Week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals?
