ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos remain winless after three games and have been embarrassed in the process. This was not expected when Sean Payton took over this rudderless ship.
Sunday represented rock bottom as the Broncos yielded a franchise-record 70 points and received criticism for quitting by some former players and coaches.
Of all the reasons the Broncos are spiraling — Vance Joseph’s defensive scheme, personnel, effort — Russell Wilson is not one. Payton arrived in Denver to fix the nine-time Pro Bowler, and while that judgment will be made at season’s end, the coach has elevated him.
Watch the film from Sunday’s 70-20 Miami mauling, and Wilson can hold his head up. He never stopped competing, which many teammates cannot say based on the eye in the sky. Wilson sits tied with Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes in passer rating, buoyed by his strong first halves.
Is this the week Wilson puts together a full game, and when Payton relents and features rookie Marvin Mims Jr. — the team’s best offensive player — in the game plan?
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Wilson has completed 76.5% of his first-half passes with five touchdowns and zero interceptions. He plummets after halftime, completing 54.7% of his passes and throwing one touchdown and two picks in second halves thus far. If the Broncos can’t play their best offense this week vs. the hapless Chicago Bears, then when?
In fairness, Wilson has left plays on the field and missed open receivers. They are paying him to be a star, and he’s not shining in that way. But flickers of hope have returned. He has shown significant improvement from last year’s tire-fire season, in which he cratered statistically and invited doubt about his long-term future in Denver.
While working to get to the line of scrimmage faster, Wilson has spread the ball around, showing a willingness to use receivers, running backs and tight ends. But given the urgent need for a victory, the Broncos must make Mims a priority.
Mims is the word — or should be. He ranks third in the NFL in all-purpose yards. He boasts six plays of 30-plus yards the past two weeks. He boasts catches of 60, 53, 38 and 30. And he has a kickoff return of 99 yards for a touchdown and a 45-yard punt return.
This is not new for Mims. He had the greatest career ever for a high school receiver, starred at Oklahoma and possessed breakaway speed to warrant first-round draft projections.
What’s more, he’s doing something that hasn’t been seen in years in Denver. He’s winning on contested catches. He’s fighting for the ball in traffic. It’s no wonder that Wilson throws to him when he’s in the game. He just isn’t out there much — his plays decreasing from 17 to 16 to 15 over the first three weeks.
It remains hard to make sense of when players like Lil Jordan Humphrey receive more snaps — three catches for 15 yards — and Courtland Sutton and Brandon Johnson are not benched, even for a series, for multiple fumbles and penalties.
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Mims has stayed humble, ready for any role.
“It’s kind of weird, especially from my perspective as a rookie. You go through rookie camp, you go through OTAs and training camp,” Mims said. “You’re playing the same people almost every day. The defense starts to pick up on the routes, starts to pick up on the concepts, and you’re like, ‘It’s not really working like this.’ Or it’s not as clean as you want. When you get into the game, it’s a fresh start.”
Whether it’s with Mims or others, the Broncos should capitalize against the Bears. They boast the NFL’s worst defense over the last 20 games. They allow 35.3 points per game — second worst to Denver’s 40.7 — yield 286 through the air, and teams convert a league-best 60 percent of their third downs against them.
This is not a get-right game. It’s a game do something right. Wilson should play a significant role. He is not the problem on a team with enough to require an intervention. But starting Sunday, will he be the reason they win?
