Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton looks on before facing the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Denver Broncos now face a must-win situation in Week 18 against the Kansas City Chiefs after Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals beat Russell Wilson’s Pittsburgh Steelers.
The ex-Broncos QB had a chance to drive the Steelers into position for a game-winning field goal. However, a rough night for the veteran and the Steelers’ offense ended the same way.
They turned the ball over on downs despite having one yard to go on three straight snaps.
“I do wonder how quick a hook the Steelers might have with Russell Wilson next week if things start as slow as they did this week,” The Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer posted on X on January 4.
Fittingly, Wilson was sacked by Bengals EDGE rusher Trey Hendrickson on the Steelers’ final offensive snap.
Wilson completed 17 of 31 passes (54.8%) for 148 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions.
He was also sacked 4 times, bringing his final tally for the regular season to 33 this season, tying him for the 13th-most in the NFL. Wilson, who missed six games with a calf injury to open the campaign, also has the sixth-highest sack rate entering Sunday, per Pro Football Reference.
Wilson was fourth in sacks taken with the eighth-highest sack rate. Sacks taken are a big issue for Broncos head coach Sean Payton.
Payton has since touted Wilson’s replacement, Bo Nix’s ability to avoid absorbing sacks.
“I think the sacks statistic, by and large, is more a quarterback statistic than an offensive line statistic,” Payton told reporters in September. “There’s some quarterbacks that are more difficult to protect for, some that aren’t.”
The Broncos cut Wilson in Year 1 of a five-year, $245 million contract, incurring a historic $85 million dead cap hit to move on.
Ex-Broncos QB Russell Wilson Ripped for Performance, Postgame Comments
GettyRussell Wilson #3 of the Pittsburgh Steelers leaves the field after facing the Cincinnati Bengals.
Wilson’s flop against the Bengals in Week 18 was just one storyline around the Broncos’ game versus the Chiefs.
His postgame comments avoiding discussing the past rubbed ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt wrong.
Russell Wilson after Saturday’s loss:
“I don’t really wanna talk about the past just because I think we’ve been in that for a little bit here. I think the best thing we can do is get ready for the playoffs.”
“It’s our job to talk about the past,” Van Pelt said on the “NFL on ESPN” postgame show on January 4. “We’re not talking about 1912, we’re not talking about the great depression. We’re talking about, the game you guys just lost, that’s the fourth in a row.”
Van Pelt said the Steelers were “limping” into the postseason.
“It’s ugly,” Hall of Famer Troy Aikman during during his postgame hit with Van Pelt. “They’ve got to be better on that side of the ball.
“They’re one and done, Scott, if they don’t play better on offense than they did tonight. It’s going to be a short trip in the postseason, and they’ll be looking for their first playoff win since 2016 going into next year.”
Broncos Game Cut Off Amid Blowout
GettyBo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos celebrates after a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs.
If ever there was a good sign, CBS’s decision to go away from the Broncos’ game with the Chiefs with Denver pitching a shutout against K.C.’s backups in the third quarter of the regular season finale, was it.
The Broncos needed to win, and they did not leave anything to chance in their tilt against the short-handed Chiefs.
The Broncos secured the No. 7 seed in the AFC with the win.
They will face Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in the Super Wild Card Round of the playoffs. The Broncos notably beat Allen and the Bills – in Buffalo – in Week 10 of the 2023 season. That was with Wilson under center.
