Russell Wilson Details Using his Legs to 'Take Over' vs. Niners
As imperfect as it was, Russell Wilson came through for the Denver Broncos in the clutch — for the second straight week. Trailing by five points a few minutes into the fourth quarter, Wilson had found little purchase against a top-ranked San Francisco 49ers defense on Sunday night.
However, Wilson had anticipated how stiff the Niners would be going into this game, and counseled his teammates to also be aware and stay in the fight when things weren't going Denver's way.
"I have the State of the Union meeting on Tuesdays. The first thing I told the guys was, ‘Listen. Whatever you do, believe in this game because we are going to get battle-tested. It’s going to take a while.’ That’s one of the first things I told the guys—it may not happen right away, just keep believing," Wilson said post-game. "I showed them the film and some of the past games I’ve played against them, and at some point in the game, there’s a shift. That shift’s going to happen."
The shift Wilson spoke of began taking shape with about 10 minutes to go in the fourth. The Broncos' offense had put a measly three points on the board all night long and needed a touchdown to avoid losing this one at home.
What ensued was a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive that was punctuated by a Melvin Gordon goal-line plunge. On that drive, Wilson seemingly threw caution to the wind, and took over the game, especially on third down.
"We were able to win in the fourth," Wilson said. "I told the guys, ‘Listen, despite us battling back and forth, back and forth, the game is still close—within striking distance.’ We just kept staying on it. Really in the fourth quarter, I had to kind of use my legs and kind of take over. Just try to move around and find some first downs."
Wilson finished with more rushes on Sunday night than in the first two games combined. He converted a massive 3rd-&-6 on that final touchdown drive with his legs, picking up 12 yards and unflinchingly taking on contact.
As a passer, Wilson went 20-of-33 for 184 yards with a passer rating of 75.8. Offensively, the Broncos finished with 261 net yards against a Niners defense that entered the game ranked No. 1 in the league in total yards.
Just as Wilson foresaw, the Niners presented a stingy test. It would have been easy for the Broncos' offensive line to throw in the towel or for the defense to get frustrated and let down its guard.
But the Broncos stayed focused and rallied around their new leader under center.
Russell Wilson has the Broncos believing again.
“The best thing you can do is stack wins," Wilson said. "We’re learning each other like I said... I know how hard these wins are. Fortunately, I’ve won a lot of games here over my lifetime in the NFL. Those games you don’t take for granted. Once you get that one [win], it’s ‘Okay, here we go. Let’s try to get the next one. Whatever it takes, whatever it takes, whatever it takes.’ It just takes what it takes.”
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