Russ-O-Meter: Wilson sits again as Denver Broncos let it Ryp

The Denver Broncos offense broke out for a second straight week, scoring 24 points in beating the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and they did so without their star quarterback Russell Wilson.

Wilson was sat by the Broncos after suffering a concussion late in the game the prior week against the Kansas City Chiefs. Wilson wanted to and expected to play and was even healthy enough to hit the casino over the weekend. But it’s understandable why Denver would want to play it safe with their quarter-billion-dollar quarterback in a season they had already been eliminated from postseason contention in.

In the weekly “Russ-O-Meter,” we’ll grade and cover what’s gone on in the wide world of Wilson this week. The meter represents how psyched Broncos Country is with Russell.

Meter: 5 (->0)

Stat line: N/A

The decision made even more sense once Sunday hit. Backup Brett Rypien was sacked seven times behind a makeshift offensive line. He was hit nine times and ran the ball another two times where he was hit. All those are hits the recently head-injured Wilson did not take.

This was the second start of the year for Rypien, the former Broncos late-round draft pick. And he’s been decent in the contests, giving Denver a chance to win against the Jets and game-managing his way to the Broncos first win this past Sunday since October. Rypien did finish the final touchdown drive against the Chiefs but could not complete what would’ve been the biggest comeback in Broncos history.

Rypien isn’t much more than a decent game manager who can make do with a good run game like Denver had against the Cardinals, gaining 168 yards on the ground. But the beauty in Brett is he more or less knows his limitations. Even his one pick on Sunday came on a play where it looked as though he threw a deep ball just because he thought he had a free play due to an opposing defender jumping a bit.

In both Rypien and Wilson, Jerry Jeudy has found a connection, especially with Courtland Sutton off the field and the younger receiver becoming both more of a focal point and moving around the field.

What was refreshing from Rypien is that he didn’t try to unnecessarily play hero ball. But again it wasn’t necessary and he just had to protect a lead. On the other hand, Denver has held second-half leads in many games this year and it hasn’t worked out for Russ or the usually constipated offense. Does Wilson play too much hero ball? Is Wilson forced into playing hero ball by the lack of production by his team?

These are tough questions to answer but it’s simple who most in Denver would want on the field down a score in the fourth: Wilson. But do the Broncos or Broncos fans want to see Wilson again this season? He more or less proved he had something still in the tank against the Chiefs and proved his loyalty by putting his head down for a carry which got him concussed.

In a season that has made the Wilson trade and contract already look so bad, why add reoccurring head injuries to the list of issues/questions heading into 2023?

Denver has three more meaningless games left, including a standalone game this Sunday on Christmas against the Rams. And just as Wilson had ahead of the London game with Rypien starting, Wilson should be fresh for another big albeit unimportant stage.

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