Russell Wilson misses golden opportunity as miraculous Hail Mary goes to waste
Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos missed out on the chance to capitalise on an unlikely - yet successful - Hail Mary on Sunday in the NFL.
The Broncos hosted the Washington Commanders in the Week 2 game of the 2023 NFL regular season. However, Wilson and his teammates fell to a 35-33 loss to start the year with back-to-back defeats.
New Broncos head coach Sean Payton will be left scratching his head over how the team lost despite holding a lead after each of the first three quarters in Mile High City. Despite a rallying comeback from the Commanders there was still a chance for the Broncos to claim a victory in the closing seconds of the contest.
As the clock neared zero at the end of the fourth quarter, the Broncos were facing a 1st and 10 on the 50-yard line with just three seconds remaining. After the snap, Wilson a pass half the length of the field in the hope one of his teammates would catch the ball in the endzone.
As the ball came down it ricocheted around Washington and Denver players, before falling into the hands of Broncos wide receiver Brandon Johnson for the touchdown. It left the Broncos trailing by two points with the opportunity to level with a two-point conversion attempt.
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However, Wilson’s pass aimed for Courtland Sutton but was incomplete. As a result, despite the successful Hail Mary moments earlier, the Broncos still lost the game in their home stadium.
After the game, Coach Payton claimed that both he and Wilson needed to work on their communication when calling plays during games. Wilson is in his second season in Denver, while Payton become the head coach of the Broncos earlier this summer after the Broncos agreeed a compensation package with New Orleans after Payton had retired in 2022.
“There was a number of drives where we’re late with personnel, getting out of the huddle we took a while,” Payton told reporters in his post-game press conference.
“That’s got to change. We burned timeouts in the first half, and I’m not used to doing [that].
“We’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be better, Russ has got to be sharper getting the play out, and then we’ve got to look at how much we have in. But if we need to wristband it, we will.”
Next up for the Broncos is an AFC match-up against the Miami Dolphins who have started with two victories. Payton, Russell and Co will be determined to get the win to ensure the franchise does not fall to 0-3 for the first time since 2020.
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