KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the Broncos, it was the same sad song, 16th verse. Misery? We know it all too well, Taylor Swift.
With Swift in the house Thursday night to cheer on new beau and Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, the Broncos lost to the Chiefs for the 16th time in a row, this time by a score of 19-8.
Make it stop. We’ve seen enough. It’s time to shut down the Errors Tour of Russell Wilson, whose record as the team’s starting quarterback is now 5-16. That sample size is now large enough to know: DangeRuss isn’t the answer.
“I’ve got to play better,” Wilson said, “and that starts with me.”
When there are more sightings of Swift sitting alongside Mama Donna Kelce on the Amazon Prime livestream than touchdowns put on the scoreboard by the Broncos, maybe it’s time to write the break-up song for Wilson and coach Sean Payton.
Yes, it’s easier to find a tastier item on a Waffle House menu than the monstrosity Payton buries his head in on the Denver sideline. His offensive game plan seemed more designed to prevent a blowout than pursue a victory. Payton called plays like a man afraid of Wilson’s mistakes, and the quarterback went out and threw two interceptions anyway.
Wilson is giving Broncos Country that awful feeling of deja vu all over again, playing like the quarterback who got Nathaniel Hackett fired as coach before last season came to a merciful end.
While Payton was hired to fix Wilson, it appears over the course of the last two games that the coach has slowly lost trust in his quarterback. And his looming $245 million contract extension feels as heavy as cement shoes that make it nearly impossible for a franchise that hasn’t appeared in the playoffs since Super Bowl 50 to run aggressively in a new direction.
Against the Chiefs, Payton gave Wilson an elementary set of plays better suited for a prep signal-caller than an accomplished NFL veteran with nine trips to the Pro Bowl. Counting four sacks, Wilson needed 26 dropbacks to produce a measly 82 yards through the air. Although he did scramble for 31 yards on four rushing attempts, it made me wonder if Payton is trying to turn back the clock and make Wilson an option quarterback.
While benching DangeRuss now in favor of backup Jarrett Stidham would scream the Broncos are blatantly tanking in pursuit of the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, it’s hard to see how Wilson finishes this season as the starting quarterback. It’s also not too early to discuss if the financial pain of cutting him prior to next season might be a better alternative than watching him throw more of that money down the drain with each interception.
In 246 previous games as a head coach in the NFL, the self-appointed genius who now calls the plays for Denver had never been shut out. The Broncos avoided that bit of embarrassment for Payton, when Courtland Sutton made a spectacular grab off a pass from Wilson for an 11-yard touchdown with six minutes, seven seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
This sorry Denver team, which obviously doesn’t know how to win, is bad enough to make a guy call in sick instead of report to work against his former team. Am I right, Frank Clark?
The Broncos decided prior to the game to move on from Clark, who won two Super Bowl rings with the Chiefs before signing with Denver as a free agent.
Clark won’t be the last to go prior to the NFL trade deadline on Oct. 31. With a record of 1-5, it’s time for Denver to get down to the business of rebuilding, with all serious trade offers considered. The cellpone of general manager George Paton should be ringing so loudly it can be heard in the Broncos the locker room.
“We’ve got to block out all the outside noise,” Denver cornerback Pat Surtain II said.
But outside of Surtain, whom the Broncos would be crazy to deal, would any member of the Broncos have big value on the trade market?
Receiver Jerry Jeudy, whose tender ears burn at the slightest hint of criticism, had his feelings hurt by current NFL Network analyst and former standout receiver Steve Smith Sr. After saying Jeudy cursed him during a confrontation on the field at Arrowhead Stadium prior to kickoff, Smith insisted it would be foolish for any team to make a trade for Jeudy, a 2020 first-round draft choice Smith labeled an average, third-tier NFL player.
Against the Chiefs, Jeudy was a non-factor, producing three catches for 14 yards. From his production to his attitude, he’s not worthy of wearing a Broncos uniform. While there’s no way Denver gets a first round pick in return for Jeudy, he’s got to go.
“I just be where my feet are, you feel me?” Jeudy said. “It’s out of my control.”
The Chiefs are now America’s team. They cause Swift’s heart go pitter-pat with delight.
The Broncos? They’re now little more than a bad excuse to pass the time until Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets start defense of their NBA title.
You think Mama Kelce could maybe bake us some of her delicious chocolate chip cookies to ease the pain?
