Russell Wilson: ‘We didn’t give up and give in’

The Denver Broncos secured their first win of the season with a final score of 31-28 over the Chicago Bears. Granted, it was a win we barely squeezed out and, yes, it was against an already-struggling team. Having a soft spot for the Bears, I’m also not super thrilled to see them walk out of their own field in defeat; but at the end of the day, I will take any win that I can get for the Broncos.

As a bonus, Denver tied a record for second-largest comeback on the road in team history. With that kind of specificity, it sort of sounds like we’re turning everything into a “record,” but I’m going to celebrate it and no one can stop me. Peyton Manning’s Monday Night Football comeback being the record we all remember and love.

Following the game, QB Russell Wilson met with the press, and the first topic of discussion was the riveting final quarter.

“Yeah, it was huge for us...It was a beautiful demonstration of resilience, beautiful demonstration of just not giving up and not giving in,” Wilson said.

The QB shared that he and the team have been comparing the season to a journey. “It’s a 17-round fight and each fight, each round matters, each one of them,” he explained, “I think that we really stepped up to the plate. We talked about what winning sounds like at halftime. Mentioned to the guys that we got to have great language on the sideline the second half.”

Wilson gave props to the defense and described their “great” performance in the second half. “They locked it down,” he said, “Alex Singleton coming up with the big stop on fourth down. [Nik] Bonitto played great getting the quarterback’s elbow. And [Jonathan] Coop, scoring, I don’t know, probably his first touchdown in a while. That was pretty amazing.”

Wilson wasn’t exaggerating about those defensive plays, either. Jonathon Cooper’s 35-yard fumble recovery after fellow OLB Nik Bonitto’s strip sack on Bears QB Justin Fields was just beautiful, and absolutely game-changing.

He also praised the OL, joking that they “didn’t blink the whole day,” and he mentioned WR Court Sutton’s contributions as another offensive highlight, especially “that little skinny post he ran on the back side.”

Jaleel McLaughlin was another point of interest, as he took over the RB position after Javonte Williams was ruled out. Not to go unnoticed, McLaughlin scored his first receiving TD today.

“I think Jaleel is a young rookie. The spirit of him is what’s amazing, his confidence,” Wilson shared, “He’s got God all over him...He works at it every day. Guy gets here early to the facility, like you guys know, and he’s so dedicated to the game.”

The QB admitted the importance of not staying in a slump after last week’s historic loss. “I think that’s the biggest thing about — last week was tough, but you know what I love most? After last week we didn’t give up. That really shows me something even more as a team that we didn’t give up and give in.”

Congratulations to Denver and to Sean Payton for his first victory as the Broncos’ head coach. Will we be able to keep this up next week vs Jets?