Broncos QB Russell Wilson Unveils the Two Keys a Winning Team 'Has to Have'

The Denver Broncos are in the process of undergoing a spiritual rebirth. Since Russell Wilson arrived via a blockbuster trade from Seattle, he's become a football priest of sorts, exorcising the demons that have inhabited and corrupted this team's soul over the past six years.

Equal parts quarterback/leader/teacher, Wilson continues to share his wisdom with his teammates and we in the media, along with fans, are learning more and more about what makes this ultra-competitor tick and how he's manufactured the remarkable results he has over his 10-year career.

In an illuminating sit-down with All-Pro safety Justin Simmons, Wilson revealed two of "the few" hallmarks that are non-negotiable for a winning team. Let's start with the first.

"There are a few things that a winning team has to have. First of all, they have to be able to flip the switch," Wilson said via Broncos TV. "There's a switch that's always on and at times, you have to know when to turn it off—and then it's back on. And there's not an effort to turn it back on. It just comes on—and I think that's what we're really learning and capturing. I think the defense has always had that. I think offensively, we're really learning that right now and it's coming along. So I think you've got to know when to turn that switch on, and really, it should be on almost all the time."

What happens next on the Broncos? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Please take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Indeed, the Broncos' defense carried most of the water over this six-year period of depredation. When Peyton Manning hung up his cleats, the team's brain trust, led by then-GM John Elway, simply could not get the quarterback situation right, nor the head coach.

All the king's horses, and all the king's men, couldn't make Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, or Teddy Bridgewater into a bonafide franchise quarterback. Exacerbating those QB misses was a carousel of head coaches who were overwhelmed and not equal to their opportunity.

The exception, of course, was Gary Kubiak, who led the Broncos to a World Championship in 2015 and then promptly stepped down following the 2016 season, which was the last plus-.500 campaign the team has produced (9-7). That Super Bowl 50 championship roster checks the "switch is always on" box.

That team was going to give opponents hell from the first whistle to the last. And it culminated in triumph as Elway got to hoist the Lombardi Trophy and generate one of the most iconic moments in Broncos' history: "This one's for Pat!"

The Broncos teams of the past six years, however, not only couldn't keep the switch on, it was as if they were blindfolded in the dark and couldn't find the fixture on the wall. The defense, at times, operated on an 'always on' basis but let's not pretend like the unit was infallible post-Super Bowl 50.

When leaders like DeMarcus Ware, T.J. Ward, Aqib Talib, and later, even Von Miller, departed the Mile High City, the Broncos' defense was hit-and-miss, but it was still the team's strength.

Wilson then revealed Key No. 2, which ties into yet another illusory, intangible trait: belief.

"There's another part that I think you've got to have. And that's unrelenting belief," Wilson said. "The best teams in the world, they have unrelenting belief. It doesn't matter what the score is, it doesn't matter what it looks like, it doesn't matter what happened the week before, it doesn't matter what happened—we're going to believe and that's it. There is no other option."

I'm starting to feel my PTSD creeping back in here. Broncos Country grew weary of seeing its team, at the first sign of a setback, cast its gaze into the dirt with shoulders slumped, as if to say, "Here we go again."

There was a defeatist mentality around Dove Valley over the past six years and it stemmed from a lack of results and leadership at the coaching level. When the losses began to pile up, starting in 2017, it was as if the Broncos had forgotten how to win. It was as if the team couldn't remember what winning even felt like.

So when a guy fumbled, or a cornerback relinquished a big play downfield, or a quarterback threw an interception, the Broncos' too easily gave up the ghost, never believing that they actually could overcome a temporary obstacle or even a run-of-the-mill foible.

Because the Broncos forgot who they were, they also forgot what it meant to believe. Alas, their self-belief did relent and it turned the team into an AFC doormat.

But those days are in the rear view. Wilson operates on a whole different level and even if it's kicking and screaming, to pull out an old Elway quote, the nine-time Pro Bowler will drag his teammates up to his level — and back to the heights the Broncos belong.

Wilson will help this team remember how to win. When it comes to the process of belief, sometimes one must lean on others' faith when theirs is lacking.

If that's what it takes to turn the Broncos' ship around, Wilson's shoulders are broad enough to carry his teammates as they fake it 'til they make it.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.

Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.

Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!