It took a long time, but ultimately the Denver Broncos could feel good about their trade with Russell Wilson.
Not great, but at least better than they would have felt without a late push that led to a win.
The Broncos had five points in the fourth quarter and started the season 1-2 when Wilson had his best drive with Denver. It happened in his 12th quarter with Denver, which took longer than Broncos fans would have liked, but at least it happened.
Wilson made a few plays with his legs, had a few good shots and Melvin Gordon scored with 4:10 left to give the Broncos a lead. The 49ers turned it over twice afterwards and the Broncos, led by defense and a decent offensive drive near the end of a poor night, earned a nasty 11-10 victory.
There’s a lot to settle with the Broncos’ offense. There are good questions about head coach Nathaniel Hackett’s game and whether Wilson’s talent is fading at 33. It was mostly a bad night. Imagine if it hadn’t ended in victory.
Russell Wilson has a rough night
Prior to this fourth-quarter practice, the Broncos’ offense was miserable. Denver worked for every yard. Wilson hasn’t really struggled for a long time since joining the NFL, but he got off to a bad start in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Denver had nine three outs, and that’s inexcusable even though the 49ers were magnificent on defense.
The practice that summed up the Broncos’ offensive struggles and Wilson’s struggles came after Jimmy Garoppolo pulled out of the end zone for a safety. The Broncos trailed 7-5.
The Broncos were conservative on that possession. With the exception of a long pass on that run which resulted in a waiting penalty, it was all short passes or runs. The Broncos reached the 49ers 41-yard line, ran twice, and then Wilson badly missed a wide-open Jerry Jeudy on third down. Brandon McManus missed a field goal to add to the Broncos’ woes.
It was revealing. The Broncos didn’t seem to trust Wilson at the time. And if that was the case, the glaring absence of Jeudy did not help.
In the fourth quarter, the Broncos were in their own territory facing fourth-and-inches. Hackett decided to throw rather than give his $245 million QB a chance to complete a short pass, or even get him a foot forward.
Then Wilson came to life. He played games with his legs. He rushed to find Kendall Hinton in the field for 27 yards on third down. On another third down, he found a lane and ran 12 yards for a first down. These are glimpses of the Wilson who became a star with the Seattle Seahawks. A great back pass to Courtland Sutton put the Broncos on the 5-yard line and Gordon scored two plays later.
For all the Broncos’ problems on offense, they were leading with just over four minutes left. Garoppolo would still have a few chances to respond.
Jimmy Garoppolo had a chance to lead a victory
Garoppolo had the chance to lead a big drive. His safety, when he gave up the back of the end zone, was the difference in the Broncos’ 11-10 lead.
Garoppolo completed a big third-and-3 on one out against Jauan Jennings who nearly got knocked out. It was rather a first attempt. Then Garoppolo threw an interception. He threw traffic to Deebo Samuel, he popped through the air, and linebacker Jonas Griffith picked him up with 2:06 to go. It was a bad decision by Garoppolo.
Garoppolo had a second shot after another three shots from the Broncos. Instead of letting Wilson try and land a first down on third-and-9 inside the two-minute warning, the Broncos ran and kicked. The 49ers took over on their own 15-yard line with 1:42 to go. After a sack, running back Jeff Wilson was pulled from the run after a catch, the Broncos recovered the fumble and it sealed the win.
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan claimed the Broncos were offside before the game that ended in Wilson’s fumble, but officials disagreed.
Neither team looked good on Sunday night. Garoppolo’s safety ended up being a big factor. The 49ers’ two turnovers late in the game sum up the play of both offenses. At least the Broncos left as the winner.
