Russ-O-Meter: Wilson’s woes worsen, was the trade worth it?

Russell Wilson caught a lot of heat after Denver’s 12-9 home loss to the Colts on Thursday and rightfully so.

The star quarterback underperformed again, made several devastating mistakes, and his personality started to wear thin. Things have quickly turned in Broncos Country, going from amped to have a future Hall of Famer to being “stuck with” him.

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: 2 (↓3)

Stat line: 21-for-39 passing, 274 passing yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, 4 carries, 22 rushing yards, 0 TD, 4 sacks for 24 yards, 15.9 QBR, 54.9 Passer Rating

One thing about Wilson is he has kept the Broncos in most of their games up until this point. Their two wins have been fourth-quarter comebacks, and he’s nearly led two more. But only gunslinging to nine points on offense is just not going to cut it. The last time Denver didn’t score a touchdown in a game, they played a wide receiver at QB, and the last time the Broncos lost while not allowing a touchdown was in the mid-80s. Put simply; the Broncos had a chance to outscore one of the worst offenses in the NFL in the Colts, without their top player, while Indy threw two picks and Denver held them under their pitiful average—but the Wilson offense couldn’t do it.

Wilson’s lollipop interception in the second half was terrible. Yet he threw another two drives later with time ticking down and Denver just needing to run out the clock before adding a field goal. Wilson’s second pick dropped the Broncos win probability by 25% and led directly to Matt Ryan leading the Colts for the tie. In overtime, the Broncos were led down the field by Wilson, but when it came time to make a call, the Broncos went for the end zone instead of the sticks on fourth-and-one, and Wilson missed a wide-open KJ Hamler, ending the game in a loss.

Wilson was heavily criticized after the game; former teammate Richard Sherman blasted him for the decisions to keep throwing instead of running, while an NFL Network host tore into his personality. Meanwhile, Broncos fans had to endure a tone-deaf “Broncos Country, Let’s Ride” as he walked off the press conference podium after the game.

It’s hard to know how low this will go with Wilson, but the trade of significant assets and the payday of over $250 million is starting to look like it may hurt the Broncos for a long time. Denver’s offense has been brutally bad, and reinforcements are not coming. Wilson says things will look better once things click, but now that the Broncos easy portion of their schedule is over, all Denver can do is hope that this isn’t the disaster it’s playing out to be.