DENVER – Justin Fields and the Pittsburgh Steelers narrowly defeated the struggling Denver Broncos 13-6 on Sunday, with Russell Wilson once again reprising his bitter role as a sideline spectator in the Mile High City.
Wilson’s highly anticipated return to Denver to face the team that replaced him first with migrant Jarrett Stidham and then with rookie Bo Nix fizzled out when he was demoted to emergency QB due to a calf strain that sidelined him for the second week in a row.
This did not stop Steelers coach Mike Tomlin from giving Wilson a game ball in the winning visitors’ locker room.
“It was nice to get him a win,” Fields said of Wilson upon his return to Denver.
Fields threw a touchdown pass and completed the game without an interception, completing 13 of 20 passes for 117 yards, helping Pittsburgh (2-0) to its third consecutive victory over the Broncos (0-2).
“It’s always hard to win in this league, so it was great to start 2-0 with two away games,” said Fields, who won his first game in Atlanta 18-10 and put in another solid, if not spectacular, performance. “But we have to be better. We have to stop the penalties and things like that. We have to be better, myself included.
“We can do that, and if we see the way our defense is playing, we can get going on offense and score over 28 points. We’ll be in good shape.”
Although Nix threw for 246 yards on 20 of 35 passes, he never reached the end zone and was intercepted twice. And like Fields, he was sacked twice.
Broncos icon Peyton Manning often jokes that he hopes someone comes along and breaks his NFL record of 28 interceptions as a rookie. And with four passes intercepted so far, Nix is well on his way to doing just that.
Nix, who had two turnovers deep in Seattle territory in his NFL debut, was intercepted by Cory Trice Jr. in the back of the end zone in the third quarter, thwarting Denver’s best drive, which consisted of passes for 26 yards to Courtland Sutton and 50 yards to Josh Reynolds that brought the Broncos to the Steelers’ 6-yard line.
“It was just a bad decision. You can’t do that,” said Nix, who, when asked again to describe the exact incident, added: “Yes, I fell back. I threw it to the other team.”
Enough said.
On Pittsburgh’s ensuing drive, Broncos star cornerback Patrick Surtain II’s third penalty of the game – a 37-yard pass interference – allowed Chris Bowell’s second field goal, this time from 53 yards, to make it 13-0 late in the third quarter.
The Broncos were facing a fourth-and-6 attempt at the Pittsburgh 16-yard line when coach Sean Payton decided to send kicker Wil Lutz out for a 35-yard field goal with 10:42 left, making the two-point deficit 13-3 and standing.
Another drive stalled at the Steelers’ 11-yard line and Lutz was good from 29 yards with 1:54 left. With one timeout remaining, Payton opted to kick the ball deep rather than declare an onside kick.
The Broncos held on, but had just 9 seconds left when they got the ball back at their 19-yard line and Damontae Kazee intercepted Nix’s final throw as time expired.
Wilson’s tumultuous two-year tenure in Denver was marked by an 11-19 record, a head coach in Nathaniel Hackett who didn’t make it through his first season, and a year with Payton, who Wilson would have loved to play for earlier in his career but whose pairing imploded during their only season together.
Wilson finished his time on the bench in Denver and the Broncos released him in March, although their separation resulted in a record $85 million in dead cap charges over two years. Wilson signed in Pittsburgh for the veteran minimum ($1.21 million), meaning the Broncos will have to cover $37.79 million of his 2024 salary.
So in many ways, the Broncos are paying the price for parting ways with Wilson. They’re trying to move on, but it’s hard.
“We can’t allow this train to keep rolling the way it’s rolling,” said Sutton, who had just one catch. “We have to find a way to get it back on the rails as quickly as possible.”
Payton has hit 1/3 since going 7-8 when Wilson was his quarterback. The Broncos’ scoring average has dropped from 21.7 points per game with Wilston to 14.0 without him and their offensive output has dropped from an average of 329.7 yards to 281.5.
In the 20 drives so far (not including the end of the first half) under Nix, the Broncos have scored only two field goals and two touchdowns, along with eleven punts, three interceptions and two turnovers on downs.
Broncos: DE John Franklin-Myers (concussion), OLB Baron Browning (foot) and special teams ace JL Skinner (ankle) are all out. … RT Mike McGlinchey headed to the medical tent after colliding with LT Garett Bolles at the 2-minute warning.
Steelers: Their only injury came in the fourth quarter when linebacker Tyler Matakevich suffered a torn hamstring.
Steelers: Host the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday.
Broncos: Visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday.
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