Russ-O-Meter: Salty Seattle spoils Russell Wilson’s Denver debut
Sep 14, 2022, 6:00 AM | Updated: 6:47 am
DenverFan’s Andrew Mason, who has been covering the NFL for decades, said he has never heard louder boos than what Russell Wilson received when returning to Seattle in Week 1.
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: 8
Stat line: 29-for-42 passing, 340 passing yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 carry, 2 rushing yards, 2 sacks for 10 yards, 52.7 QBR, 101.3 Passer Rating
Before Russ even played a game in Denver for the orange and blue, he went back to his old home for one of the most-anticipated games of the NFL slate. The Broncos came up short 17-16. Wilson nearly led the 25th fourth-quarter comeback of his career in his Denver Broncos debut, but Brandon McManus’ 64-yard field goal sailed wide.
Wilson’s return to Seattle was met with ruthless boos, trolls, and former teammates poking the bear. Doug Baldwin spent seven seasons with Wilson in Seattle; he posted a gif on Twitter, seemingly making fun of Wilson’s gameday outfit.
— Doug Baldwin Jr 🌹 (@DougBaldwinJr) September 13, 2022
In the leadup for Monday Night Football, ESPN published a very interesting storywhere Seattle aired all of their dirty laundry about the quarterback. Like Baldwin, teammates in the past had complained about Wilson plenty, even being blamed for breaking up the Legion of Boom. Hence why, fans shared their boos so loudly.
Overall, the drama and hype for Wilson’s return lived up; the Broncos just came up short at the end. He had the best passing performance by a Bronco in years and didn’t even target a wideout until midway through the second quarter. It’s a sneaky good start for Russ, that will get lost in the loss and embarrassment of Seattle acting like they won their own Super Bowl.
Wilson’s first touchdown pass as a Bronco went to Jerry Jeudy if you were looking for a trivia question years ago.
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