By the end of Russell Wilson’s opening two drives against the Cardinals on Friday, the Broncos’ quarterback didn’t provide any evidence — or even any glimmer of hope — that this season would be any different under new head coach Sean Payton.
Wilson went just 1-for-4 passing, starting with a three-and-out and then guiding the Broncos into field-goal range until Brett Maher missed a field goal.
But by the time Wilson played his final snap in the second quarter, he’d completed 7-of-13 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, p`roviding a glimpse of both the good — what Payton might be able to fix, and what now-Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett never could — and the bad during a mixed 2023 preseason debut.
“We looked at the numbers, and we went one more with the offense,” Payton told reporters postgame. “I think defense totals, that was a little easier, and I wanted to — shoot, I wanted to score and leave with a good taste in our mouths.”
Wilson played into the second quarter of the Broncos’ 18-17 loss to the Cardinals, compiling all of the Denver snaps until he connected with Jerry Jeudy for a touchdown and Jarrett Stidham entered with just over three minutes remaining in the first half.
Through the NFL’s nine preseason games entering Saturday, Wilson’s 13 pass attempts sat 21st among quarterbacks, according to CBS Sports statistics, but they reflect the most by a quarterback who has made a Pro Bowl — which Wilson did nine times across 10 seasons with the Seahawks before his 2022 trade to Denver.
That was followed by Wilson’s awful 2022 campaign, where he went 4-11 as a starter and completed a career-worst 60.5 percent of his passes while tossing 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
The disastrous season resulted in Hackett getting fired, Payton getting hired and Wilson having the opportunity for a career reset as he enters the 2023 season at 34 years old.
Payton thought Wilson looked “sharp” against the Cardinals, though it took the Broncos’ offense a few series to find a rhythm.
With three minutes left in the first quarter, Cardinals outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck curled around the left side of Denver’s offensive line and sacked Wilson, causing the ball to briefly hit the ground.
But there were positives, too, and on a fourth-and-5, with the clock winding down in the first half, Wilson threw a pass toward Jeudy — cutting into the middle of the field.
Then, he watched as his receiver sprinted untouched into the end zone, perhaps the most obvious sign, at least this early in the season, that a transformation under Payton could, in fact, be possible.
“I thought we did a really good job driving the ball all the way down the field there at the end,” Wilson said.