“Let Russ cook” is so last two years.
Now, it’s all: “Broncos country, let’s ride.”
That’s right, Russell Wilson will be returning to face the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night — 8:15 PM ET on ESPN, ABC and ESPN+ — but he’s now the Denver Broncos’ quarterback after a huge trade in the 2022 offseason that sent the former Super Bowl champ to a place where he’ll actually contend this year.
As you can see, there are burning questions for both teams that we have to cover heading into the Week 1 finale. So let’s dive in and talk about what we want to know as we get set for the contest:
1
Will Wilson prove last year was an anomaly?
Yes, yes, this is a perfect revenge game script to stick it to Wilson’s former team.
But let’s look ahead, not behind.
Wilson completed 64.8 percent of his passes last year for just 3,113 yards and 25 touchdowns. Not the worst, but not great. He only rushed for 183 yards, a career-low by far.
So: With a great set of weapons and a change of scenery, will he go back to being a terrific dual threat?
2
What exactly are we going to see out of the Seahawks offense?
This is a nice way of saying: Uh, Geno Smith is the quarterback.
But he has the kind of supporting cast many QBs around the league would dream of: Rashaad Penny in the backfield, Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf and former Bronco Noah Fant.
A lot of people are projecting this is going to be rough for this entire unit. Let’s see what happens against a tough defense in Week 1.
3
Can a healthy Bradley Chubb be an X-factor?
Dude has played in 41 games total in his first four seasons. He’s only played a full slate once. And in those 16 games back in 2018, he totaled 12 sacks.
The hope here is that starting in Week 1, he’ll get back to being a stud pass-rusher. Let’s see!
4
Is Rashaad Penny going to be the real deal?
In the latter half of the 2021 season, he ran for 135-plus yards in four of his final five games of the year. He scored six times in that span.
Yeah, it’s possible he’s going to resume running over opponents. Against the Broncos? Maybe not. But the motivation to put some distance between him and second-round rookie Kenneth Walker III (who’s injured and may miss the game) has to be there.
Just want to remind everyone that Rashaad Penny led the NFL last year in yards per carry (6.3) and was the best fantasy RB for the last quarter of the season. When he’s on the field he is elite. The fact that he’s drafted as RB32 is hilarious
— Cornbread (@notcornbread1) September 8, 2022
