DENVER— Justin Fields and the Pittsburgh Steelers squeaked past the sputtering Denver Broncos 13-6 on Sunday with Russell Wilson reprising his bitter role as sideline spectator in the Mile High City.
Wilson’s much-anticipated return to Denver to face the team that replaced him first with journeyman Jarrett Stidham, then with rookie Bo Nix, fizzled into a footnote when he was relegated to emergency QB status as a strained calf sidelined him for the second straight week.
That didn’t stop Steelers coach Mike Tomlin from giving Wilson a game ball in the victorious visitors’ locker room.
“It was nice to get him a win,” Fields said of Wilson in his return to Denver.
Fields threw a touchdown pass and finished 13 for 20 for 117 yards with no interceptions to help Pittsburgh (2-0) beat the Broncos (0-2) for the third consecutive time.
“It’s always hard to win in this league, so being able to start out 2-0, with two away games has been great,” said Fields, who won his first start 18-10 at Atlanta in another solid-if-not-spectacular performance. “But we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to stop the penalties, stuff like that. We ought to be better, including me.
“We get that, and the way our defence is playing, we get rolling on offence, scoring 28 points-plus, we’ll be in good shape.”
Although Nix threw for 246 yards on 20-of-35 passing, he never found the end zone and was intercepted twice. And like Fields, he was sacked twice.
Broncos icon Peyton Manning often cracks wise about hoping someone comes along and breaks his NFL record of 28 interceptions as a rookie. And with four passes picked off so far, Nix is on pace to do just that.
Nix, who had a pair of turnovers deep in Seattle’s territory in his NFL debut, was intercepted by Cory Trice Jr. in the back of the end zone in the third quarter, squelching Denver’s best drive, which featured completions of 26 yards to Courtland Sutton and 50 yards to Josh Reynolds that put the Broncos on the Steelers 6.
“That was just a bad decision. Can’t do that,” said Nix, who had this to add when asked again to describe what exacly happened: “Yeah, dropped back. Threw it to the other team.”
‘Nuff said.
On Pittsburgh’s ensuing drive, Broncos star cornerback Patrick Surtain II’s third penalty of the game — a 37-yard pass interference — set up Chris Bowell for his second field goal, this one from 53 yards, to make it 13-0 late in the third quarter.
The Broncos faced fourth-and-6 from the Pittsburgh 16 when coach Sean Payton decided to send out kicker Wil Lutz for a 35-yard field goal with 10:42 remaining, making it 13-3 and keeping a two-score deficit alive.
Another drive stalled at the Steelers 11 and Lutz was good from 29 yards with 1:54 left. With one timeout remaining, Payton chose to kick it deep rather than declare an onside kick.
The Broncos held but only had 9 seconds left when they got the ball back at their 19 and Damontae Kazee intercepted Nix’s final heave as time expired.
Wilson’s tumultuous two-year stint in Denver featured an 11-19 record, a head coach who didn’t make it through his first season in Nathaniel Hackett and a year with Payton, for whom Wilson pined to play earlier in his career but whose pairing imploded during their one season together.
Wilson ended his stint in Denver on the bench and the Broncos released him in March even though their split triggered a record $85 million in dead cap charges over two years. Wilson signed for the veteran’s minimum ($1.21 million) in Pittsburgh, meaning the Broncos are on the hook for $37.79 million of his 2024 salary.
So, the Broncos are paying the price in more ways than one for their split with Wilson. They’re trying to move on, but it has been hard.
“We can’t let this train continue to roll the way that it’s rolling,” said Sutton, who had just one catch. “We have to find a way to put it back on track as quickly as we possibly can.”
Was Russell the problem?
Payton is 1-3 since going 7-8 when Wilson was his quarterback. The Broncos’ scoring average has dipped from 21.7 points per game with Wilston to 14.0 without him and their offensive output has fallen from 329.7 yards on average to 281.5.
In 20 drives (excluding end of half) under Nix so far, the Broncos have just two field goals and two touchdowns to go with 11 punts, three interceptions and two turnovers on downs.
Injuries
Broncos: DE John Franklin-Myers sustained a concussion in the first half. … OLB Baron Browning left in the second quarter with a foot injury. … Safety and special teams ace J.L. Skinner left with an ankle injujry midway through the fourth quarter. … RT Mike McGlinchey walked 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 LB Tyler Matakevich pulled a hamstring.
Up next
Steelers: Host the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday.
Broncos: Visit Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday.
