Russell Wilson benched, offense stays same

Stock up

OLB Nik Bonitto

Bonitto missed two games because of a knee injury, acknowledged it wasn’t anywhere near 100% on Sunday and still went out and logged a couple of tackles for loss over 40 snaps. Given the way Bonitto’s rookie year went in 2022, his growth both on the field and apparently in approach and preparation go squarely in the positives category this season. He’s an important part of what Denver’s defense is doing into the future. He enters the final game of the season with seven sacks and 12 TFLs and a demonstrated ability to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks.

ILB Alex Singleton

Singleton’s perhaps flown under the radar this year, but his tackling numbers continue to jump off the page. After 11 more against the Chargers, the inside linebacker is up to 162 for the year and needs nine Sunday to pass Michael Brooks for most by a Bronco since at least 1991. He also has tied for the most 10-plus tackle games (12) in a single season in the NFL since at least 1999 and has a chance to make it a baker’s dozen against the Raiders.

RB Jaleel McLaughlin

Head coach Sean Payton spoke highly of the undrafted rookie on Monday, saying he’s spent time in Payton’s office trying to learn how to become a bigger threat out of the backfield. That will be key to his long-term projection. McLaughlin’s got juice and he’s clearly got room to grow after a productive first year in the league. Combine that with the way teammates and coaches talk about his work ethic, and you’d have to think the staff feels good about the strides he can make this offseason.

OLB Drew Sanders

Sanders hasn’t made a ton of splash plays on defense as a rookie, but he made a great read to flow to the sideline and snuff out a pass play on a third down against L.A. Sanders read the play cleanly, raced outside and made a big hit. Not only that, but he ensured a fake punt went nowhere after the Chargers bobbled the snap and played well overall on special teams. It’s a big offseason upcoming for Sanders, who’s athletic and rangy but hasn’t quite settled into a position yet.

Stock Down

QB Russell Wilson

The situation with Wilson is well-documented at this point. He got benched. He’s likely (but not officially) started his last game for Denver. None of it’s particularly clean or particularly easy for anybody involved. This is more about Sunday, which was just one game but also was notable for at least one reason offensively: It looked about the same with Jarrett Stidham running the show. Some differences, but a lot of similarities. That’s not to say Stidham over an entire season would produce like Wilson has, but it does help explain why Payton and the Broncos feel like it’s time to move off Wilson’s $245 million, five-year extension, which technically hasn’t even started yet.

Run game

The list of what-ifs will be long in the Broncos’ 2023 postmortem, but man, the efficiency in the run game really dried up. Early on against the Chargers, it looked good – 15 carries for 79 yards in the first half. Then just 22 in the second half while playing with the lead. Javonte Williams looks like he’s out of gas — understandable, given what he’s been through — and a heaping dose of McLaughlin and Samaje Perine to close out the season might just be on the menu.