Nine Pro Bowls, a 3,000 or 4,000-yard passing season every year since 2012, one Super Bowl ring, and yet Russell Wilson continues to be one of the more criticized quarterbacks in the league.
His latest performance on Thursday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs, a sloppy 19-8 road loss, has further emboldened the belief that the Denver Broncos quarterback Wilson was blessed with talent all this time — and is now getting exposed.
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Social Media Blasts Russell Wilson, ‘Experience Is Over in Denver’
The Chiefs’ offense was inept. Wilson, though, put up even more immensely bad numbers.
The final stats for the one-time Super Bowl winner: 13-of-22 passing, just 95 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and four sacks. But regarding the aerial yards, it’s now the third time in his career he failed to surpass 100 yards.
Social media yielded some strong backlash for Wilson.
“I simply cannot fathom how bad Russell Wilson is now compared to his tenure with Seattle. Like that just can’t be the same person,” one fan posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
MORE: Denver Broncos Depth Chart
One fan believed that the Wilson era in Denver has reached its end.
“This Russell Wilson experience is over in Denver,” the fan said.
A Broncos fan made this plea on social media.
“Bench Russell Wilson,” he said on X.
One Broncos fan doesn’t believe Wilson has had many highlight moments with Denver.
“Russell Wilson has yet to play a good game with this team. Blows my mind he is still on the field,” the fan posted in the mentions of the Broncos’ X account.
Lastly, on the national side, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III dropped a more intense take on the state of the Wilson era of Broncos football.
The Denver Broncos aren’t playing to win football games. They are playing to win the BLAME GAME. That’s what happens when Sean Payton comes in throwing shade at his Super Bowl Winning QB Russell Wilson EVERY CHANCE HE GETS. The locker room will implode because no one in it…
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 13, 2023
However, Amazon’s Andrew Whitworth dissed Wilson during halftime.
Ja’Marr Chase 7/11 Always Open, Russell Wilson 7/11 Always Closed 😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/bu1IfSUy4B
— GameOn513 (@gameonjmoney) October 13, 2023
Has Wilson Benefitted From Talent Around Him?
Again, numbers-wise, Wilson has put up the type of production that makes him look like a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Nonetheless, he’s seen a noticeable decline not only in his tenure with the Broncos but even toward the end of his time with the Seattle Seahawks.
From 2017 to 2020, all during a time he had two 1,000-yard Pro Bowl receivers in DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, Wilson had put together a string of 31 and 40-touchdown seasons. But since then, his touchdowns in 2021 dipped to 25. Then in Year 1 with the Broncos, that number fell to 16.
There’s more. Many NFL fans and analysts have shared a belief that Wilson was the beneficiary of having Marshawn Lynch in his prime out of the backfield and a fast-paced defense spearheaded by the “Legion of Boom.” In tracing back to the Seahawks’ Super Bowl run, Wilson didn’t throw for more than 215 yards.
There was even the 2014 season NFC title game that saw Wilson get picked off four times until throwing the winning touchdown, during a game that saw the ‘Hawks defense keep Seattle in the game.
What else has transpired for Wilson? He now has this rare streak going: 22 consecutive games without throwing for four touchdowns in a game. He’s yet to throw a quartet of touchdown throws in a Broncos uniform.
He’s had high draft picks, including Jerry Jeudy at wide receiver to throw to. He now has a Super Bowl-winning head coach Sean Payton in his corner. He even had a top-10 defense in his first year with the Broncos. But now, many believe that the Wilson/Broncos experiment is over, while some believe after all these years, he’s finally been exposed.