The Broncos sit at 8-8 with one game left to go in the 2023 season as they will close it out vs the Raiders in Vegas. It has been an interesting season. It certainly was not the dumpster fire that was last year but it was not the season we fans hoped it would be. After trading for Sean Payton, the hopes were that the offense would take steps forward in the 2023 season and he would be able to fix Russ Wilson after he came off his worst season as a starter the year prior. The expectations for this season were much more grounded than they were for the 2022 season. Let's go through the season.
Let's start with the first 5 games. The Broncos heartbreakingly lost their first 2 games combining for 3 points. Then came the nightmare in Miami where they let the Dolphins put up 70 points against them. They would squeak out a win vs the Bears the week after but then lose to the Jets at home. This stretch of the season was where the defense was historically bad. The Broncos gave up 36.2 ppg. That is historically bad. Meanwhile, the offense was producing promising results. They averaged 24.2 ppg in those 5 games which is a massive improvement from a year ago where they averaged 15.5 ppg. This was, in my opinion, the best Russell Wilson looked. The offense flowed well and looked on schedule, especially in the first half. They were unable to do much in the second half of games other than the Bears game. The team was 1-4 and things were already looking bleak as they headed to KC for the TNF showdown.
Then came the next 6 games. The Broncos would lose vs the Chiefs on Thursday Night dropping them to 1-5 but then rolled off 5 straight wins right after which included wins over the Bills, Browns, Vikings, Packers, and Chiefs(Finally). The defense held KC to 19 points in that Thursday Night game and I believe that is what changed their trajectory for this season. Though the team lost 19-8, there were some positives to take away from that game especially defensively. The defense in the next 6 games gave up just 16.5 ppg. Vance Jospeph deserves a lot of credit for that turnaround and they quickly became a turnover-generating machine as they forced 17 turnovers in that stretch. The offense, however, quickly became very boom or bust as they had stretches of lulls but Russ was very good in the clutch. The offense seemed to have taken a little step back from how they looked early in the season. Despite that, the team after this stretch was 6-5 and was looking like a viable playoff threat in the eyes of many.
Then came the final stretch. This is the part of the season that showed that the Broncos were not ready to be a playoff team yet. They lost their 2 most pivotal games this season vs the Texans in a nail-biter and then got blown out vs the Lions. The Broncos had played good football but those 2 games showed that they hadn't reached a certain level yet and they could not continue to rely on their defense to keep generating turnovers. Despite their 2 losses, they sat at 7-7 with the Pats, Chargers, and Raiders remaining. So 10-7 looked very possible. Unfortunately, the inconsistencies on offense were very prominent in this game as they fell behind 23-7 to the hapless Pats early and eventually fell 26-23 after an admirable comeback attempt. This game, along with the poor play in recent games and some contract issues, ultimately got Russ benched leading to Stidham starting vs the Chargers in week 17. Stidham looked serviceable and threw for 20/32 224 yards and 1 TD with no turnovers. His numbers looked very similar to Russ throughout the season which is concerning because Russ is getting paid 50 million a year and his numbers are being compared to those of a backup. Ultimately the team will probably move off of him.
The Russell Wilson era will not be remembered fondly and the Broncos most likely be looking for a QB in the draft. We will see where they pick based on whether they beat the Raiders or not.
Though the Wilson era was a mess, this season was far from garbage and Sean Payton has this franchise moving in the right direction for sure as they can finish the season with a winning record for the first time in 2016. If this team does what they have to do in this offseason, they could make some noise in 2024.
Cheers to a decent season!! Finally all the Russell Wilson drama will be over soon. Russ can “ride off “ to somewhere else (hopefully raiders). Well written article ! Great work !!