Whatever happens in Week 1, the Broncos have beaten the Seahawks

On Thursday, it was announced that the Broncos and Russell Wilson agreed on a contract extension that will keep Wilson in Denver for the next seven seasons. The Broncos are now secure at the most-important position in all of sports. For that reason, regardless of the outcome of the Week 1 showdown in Seattle, the Broncos are winners over the Seahawks.

It’s still baffling the Seahawks moved on from Wilson with no immediate plan in place. The Colts let Peyton Manning leave because of Andrew Luck. The 49ers moved on from Joe Montana for Steve Young. And the Packers were done with Brett Favre and began the Aaron Rodgers era.

The Seahawks? They let Wilson leave with no immediate options.

For some reason, the Seahawks looked at the last six seasons of Broncos football and decided, “Hey, let’s try that.” Reading updates from the Seahawks’ compelling quarterback competition between Geno Smith and Drew Lock was a flashback for Broncos fans from last training camp when Lock battled Teddy Bridgewater for the starting job in Denver.

For the last six seasons, the Broncos have tripped over themselves trying to solve their quarterback problem. The Seahawks politely solved the problem for them.

Wilson heads into Seattle in what could be a hostile environment. There are Seattle fans that are not happy that Wilson wanted to leave Seattle. There’s a good chance they let it be known by booing Wilson when he returns home.

The Seahawks fan base is known for being the loudest in the NFL. When Wilson takes the field in Week 1, it might be louder than it’s ever been at Lumen Field.

The Seahawks will be looking for a reason to justify why they allowed the relationship to fracture with the best player in franchise history. If the Seahawks beat the Broncos, they might feel vindicated. But that moment is micro. Taking the macro view, without a franchise quarterback, the Seahawks still lose.

In Week 1 of 2018, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks played the Broncos in Denver. The Broncos won the game 27-24. For that moment, the Broncos were better than the Seahawks. By season’s end, it didn’t matter, the Broncos finished 6-10 while the Seahawks made the playoffs with a 10-6 record. The Seahawks had an elite quarterback and eventually that prevailed.

The Broncos had a 2-0 record four times in the last six seasons and managed to miss the playoffs all four times. With a shaky quarterback situation, teams can fool the league for a game or two, but eventually they will be exposed.

A win in Week 1 might be a big deal to the Seahawks. But in the end, Russell Wilson and the Broncos will leave Seattle in a much better position for success.

The Seahawks have draft capital and it is believed they will make a move next draft for their quarterback of the future. No player in that draft will bring with them the guaranteed success of Wilson. Wilson gave the Seahawks a decade of relevancy. As Broncos Country learned after John Elway and Peyton Manning, you don’t just go get another Hall of Fame quarterback, they’re rare.

To make matters worse for the Seahawks, Wilson’s new contract is team friendly. That puts the rest any narrative that Wilson is a “me first” player.

The Denver Nuggets were not better off without Carmelo Anthony. The Colorado Rockies are not better off without Nolan Arenado. And the Seattle Seahawks are not better without Russell Wilson.

If the Broncos do manage to lose to the Seahawks in Week 1, in the grand scheme, it will be irrelevant. The Broncos now have the franchise quarterback and the Seahawks don’t. For that reason, the Broncos win.

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