At season’s midpoint, the Russell Wilson question remains unanswered

There is the Russell Wilson of the Broncos’ first four games, and the Russell Wilson of the last four.

The Wilson of the first four games was involved in 35.8 pass plays per game. In the second quarter of the season, that dropped to 29.0 pass plays. Including yardage lost to sacks, Wilson accounted for 6.65 yards per pass play in Weeks 1-4 … and 4.59 yards per pass play in Weeks 5-8.

His yardage per attempt dropped. His sack rate spiked — from one every 13 pass plays in Weeks 1-4 to one every 7.73 pass plays in Weeks 5-8.

Wilson’s average per-game ESPN QBR in Weeks 1-4 was a respectable 53.9. It dropped to 38.2 in Weeks 5-8 — even though he posted a single-game QBR of 75.7 in Week 7 against the hapless Packers that is his best since joining the Broncos.

In expected points added (EPA) per play, — s calculated by rbsdm.com — he ranked 5th in the league among quarterbacks with at least 60 dropbacks in Weeks 1-4. In Weeks 5-8, he ranked 25h. His completion-percentage-over-expected (CPOE) figure, which was second-best in the NFL in Weeks 1-4, was 14th in Weeks 5-8.

The Broncos ran more often. Wilson was less effective. But as a team, they were more successful.

The defense’s revival has something to do with that, of course. But an offense leaning more heavily on Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and Samaje Perine — and less on the quarterback for whom they rearranged two years of drafts and extended to a massive contract — has an impact, too.

RUNNING MORE, USING RUSSELL WILSON AS PASSER LESS — THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG?

In Weeks 1-4, the team passed more often than it ran — and that isn’t weighted by the three-score deficits they faced against the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears, either.

In the first four weeks, the Broncos ranked 7th in the NFL in pass-play percentage when the game was within two scores in either direction.

Denver passed on 62.8 percent of its snaps and on 37.2 percent of its snaps in that game scenario from Weeks 1-4.

But in Weeks 5-8, Denver’s pass-play percentage ranking in games within two scores plummeted to 30th in the NFL. The team had pass plays — including sacks — on 51.7 percent of its snaps and ran on 48.3 percent of its snaps.

And regardless of game situation, the Broncos shot from 28th in run percentage to fourth.

DOING WHAT’S ASKED, BUT IS IT ENOUGH FOR A FURTHER COMMITMENT?

The Broncos went 1-3 in the first quarter of the season, and Russell Wilson was the tentpole of the offense.

They went 2-2 in the second quarter, and his role reduced. His efficiency dropped. But the Broncos found a success equation — and it came very close to working out for a 3-1 record, which might have happened if not for a late-strip-sack fumble that sealed the Week 5 loss to the Jets.

What that means for the tactics after the bye — well, that is the $37 million question, which, not coincidentally, is the amount of guaranteed money that will add to the Broncos’ outlay toward Russell Wilson if he on the roster for the fifth day of the league year.

The rest of the season revolves around two tasks above all: Learning how to win consistently as a team, and figuring out whether Wilson is worth a doubling down on an already bulbous commitment.

Some say the die is already cast. I think it’s still wait-and-see time.

***