Russell Wilson finally delivers for the Broncos in London

Maybe the in-flight calisthenics actually worked?

Early on, it looked like Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars would be another chapter in a season filled with struggles for Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos.

Then Broncos fans finally got a glimpse of what the offense could look like in Wilson’s hands.

Wilson and the Broncos shrugged off a slow start to lead Denver to just their third win of the season, as the Broncos pulled out a 21-17 victory over the Jaguars.

aking his return from a hamstring injury that sidelined him in last week’s loss to the New York Jets, the quarterback spent the moments before kickoff getting himself in the zone, trying to get locked in at midfield:

It did not provide the desired effect.

Denver went three-and-out on their opening drive, and after the Broncos defense forced a Jacksonville punt on the Jaguars’ opening possession, Denver took over, only to see Wilson throw an interception two plays later:

Wilson tries to squeeze in a vertical route to wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the soft spot of a two-deep coverage, but cornerback Tyson Campbell does a great job of sinking underneath the vertical route, putting him in position for the interception.

Jacksonville would capitalize almost immediately, as Trevor Lawrence connected with tight end Evan Engram with this perfectly-thrown ball to give Jacksonville the early 7-0 lead:

Engram paid homage to soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo with his post-touchdown celebration:

Denver would find themselves trailing 10-0 midway through the second quarter, but Wilson and the offense finally got themselves on track. The Broncos put together an 11-play, 75-yard drive capped off by this touchdown from Jerry Jeudy on a fly sweep design, going into the books as a touchdown pass from Wilson:

The big play on that drive came a few plays earlier, when the Broncos faced a third down at the Jacksonville 31-yard line. Wilson was able to hang in the pocket and find Jeudy along the left side of the field on a deep out route to extend the drive:

Denver trailed 10-7 at the halftime break, and began their first possession of the third quarter deep in their own territory after a Logan Cooke punt pinned the Broncos at their own 2-yard line. But that is when Wilson started targeting rookie tight end Greg Dulcich, and a pair of huge plays from the tight end got the Broncos deep into Jacksonville territory. First came this seam route from Wilson to Dulcich, which got Denver’s offense near midfield:

But an even bigger play came a few snaps later, as Dulcich worked himself open on a switch verticals concept, and Wilson hit him with a near-perfect throw along the right side of the field:

As you can see from the end zone angle, Dulcich and the outside receiver switch on their releases, and the tight end finds space behind the defense. Wilson does a great job of working through his reads to find Dulcich, and the Broncos are deep in Jacksonville territory:

Running back Melvin Gordon would plunge into the end zone from a yard out, giving Denver their first lead of the game. But the story of the drive was the rookie tight end, as Dulcich hauled in three passes for 78 yards, accounting for the bulk of Denver’s 98-yard drive.

The Denver offense would need to put together another big drive late to pull out the win. After a Travis Etienne touchdown run gave Jacksonville a 17-14 lead with just under four minutes remaining, Wilson had a chance to finally showcase the reason why the Broncos made him the cornerstone of their offense this offseason. A chance to pull out a win in the closing moments, when his team needed him to come through. After all, we are talking about the Denver team that has a pair of overtime losses already this season.

He finally delivered.

First, Wilson connected with K.J. Hamler on this deep shot along the right sideline, displaying his deep-ball touch that was a hallmark of his years in Seattle:

This replay angle illustrates how Hamler gets behind the coverage, and how Wilson hits him with a perfect deep shot:

Then right before the two-minute warning, a Wilson scramble on third down gave the Broncos a fresh set of downs inside the red zone:

Latavius Murray would finish the drive for the Broncos, crashing into the end zone from two yards out:

The ensuing extra point gave Denver a 21-17 lead with just 1:43 left in the game. But with the Jaguars having a pair of timeouts remaining, the Denver defense would need one more stop to ice the win.

They would need just one play:

Defensive back K’Waun Williams, playing with a huge brace and cast on his right arm due to wrist and elbow injuries, drives on this out route from Kirk, stepping in front of the throw for the huge diving interception to give the Broncos the football, and a chance to salt away the victory.

This audio is worth the click:

But there was still one more bit of drama to play out, as the Broncos faced a 4th and 1 at the Jacksonville 26-yard line. with 36 seconds remaining. Denver took a time out, but kept their offense on the field. Wilson would pick up the first down, and the Broncos were able to run out the clock.

Williams’ interception was not the only huge play from the Denver defense. Early in the game it looked like the Jaguars were going in for a touchdown that would have given them a 14-0 lead, but that is when safety Justin Simmons made the first big play of the game for the Broncos’ defense:

The win improves the Broncos to 3-5 on the season, a far cry from their preseason expectations, but the much-needed win could be the jolt that Wilson and Denver desperately needed to turn around their season. The victory broke a four-game winning streak, and sends the Broncos into their bye week with a sliver of momentum, something that seemed unimaginable a few days ago.

After all, when head coach Nathaniel Hackett received the dreaded “vote of confidence” from general manager George Paton, many thought a loss in London to the Jaguars could see Hackett left on the other side of the pond, seeing the sights in England after being removed as head coach after just eight games.

Instead, their is actually hope for the Broncos right now. Something few imagined possible just days ago.

Of course, Wilson left the field the only way he knows how:

Maybe the ride has finally begun.