Christmas Day 2022 will go down as one to forget for Russell Wilson and the Broncos (4–11) following a downright abysmal showing in a 51–14 loss to Baker Mayfield and the Rams (5–10) in Los Angeles.
Instead of bringing good tidings and cheer to their fans, Wilson and Co. served up a giant lump of coal on national television in a contest that was also aired on Nickelodeon in a special holiday-themed stream … poor kids. Denver’s misfortune began after L.A. took an early 3–0 lead when Wilson tossed an interception on the offense’s third play of the game, and two plays into the following drive.
The second INT, which went to Wilson’s old Seahawks teammate Bobby Wagner, had the pleasure of receiving a special play-by-play breakdown from beloved Spongebob character Patrick Star, who told viewers “that’s not what he wanted to cook.”
Ouch.
Things barreled downhill from there as the Rams quickly scored touchdowns on both of their next two drives after the turnovers, followed by another three TDs over their next four drives and a field goal mixed in for good measure. A pair of Brandon McManus field goals chipped away at the deficit, but the Broncos still trailed big at halftime as the Rams matched their highest output of the season (!) with 31 points.
Wilson’s woes continued in the second half with a third pick to end a brief five-play drive, which set up another Rams field goal. Denver would finally find the endzone two drives later early in the fourth quarter but, by that point, the damage had already been done in more ways than one.
Wilson was benched after the drive and finished the day 15-of-27 for 214 yards, a TD and three INTs while taking a whopping six sacks. Meanwhile, Mayfield, for the first time in a long time, resembled his gunslinging ways with a 24-of-28 day for 230 yards and two scores.
Denver’s all-around ineptitude sparked waves of roasts on social media from fans who couldn’t believe how an already lost season could’ve reached a new low. Check out some of the best reactions to Wilson and the Broncos’ terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day below:
