3 things we learned from the Broncos 21-20 win over the Vikings

How many of you had written the Denver Broncos off when Russell Wilson took the field with just over two minutes left in the game against the Minnesota Vikings down 20-15?

If I’m being honest, I did. The lack of touchdowns made that five-point deficit seem insurmountable and I fully expected one of two things: a three-and-out or a timely third-down sack. Instead, we got an incredible fourth down catch by Courtland Sutton and then another Sutton catch for the game-deciding touchdown.

There are still concerns we have to point out, but there is one undeniable thing we learned about this team tonight...

The 2023 Broncos have heart

How many times over the last six seasons have we seen the Broncos down by one score or needing to hold on for a win and watch them fail? Too many to count. This season, they have been on the ropes multiple times over the last four games and have shown resilience and fire in their hearts. As a fan, I love it. As a blogger, I’m getting used to rewriting narratives in the seconds before and after the game ends. And I love that too!

Let Russ cook a little more maybe?

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In multiple games now, we see two different Russell Wilson’s. One when the game isn’t quite on the line and one when the team is in desperation two-minute mode. The latter Russell Wilson is a monster and needs to be unleashed more. He is finding ways to extend plays and makes some pretty damn good throws in those situations. Now how to replicate that on, you know, a normal drive.

The former is a Wilson who leads an offense to 32 points off a combined 12 turnovers over a three game span. That is such a pathetic and enraging stat, I just can’t even put words down to describe. That is no winning formula long-term, so Sean Payton needs to figure out how to do more before the game is on the line.

Defense both scares me and gives me hope

What else can I say here? The Broncos defense gave up 175 yards on the ground and looked really bad at times when trying to tackle. That said, they forced another three turnovers in this game and on that final drive played like a defense that smelled blood in the water. I loved that, but please God find a way to stop getting gashed by running backs. The Vikings came into this game with the fourth-worst rushing offense in the entire NFL.