Russell Wilson returned to Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, but he did not start against his former team.
Wilson is still dealing with a calf injury, so the Pittsburgh Steelers opted to start Justin Fields against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Despite being inactive, Wilson still dressed for the game as Pittsburgh’s emergency third-string quarterback.
Fields went 13-of-20 passing for 117 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers in a 13-6 win over the Broncos. After the game, Fields said, “I think we all know Russ got kind of [done] dirty last year.”
Fields also revealed that Wilson and two other ex-Denver players — wide receiver Brandon Johnson and punter Corliss Waitman — received “petty game balls” after the Steelers beat their former team.
Justin Fields said everyone knew Russell Wilson was “did dirty” last year by the Broncos and they wanted to win today for him in Denver. Also mentioned Russ got a “petty” game ball along with two other ex-Broncos. pic.twitter.com/12Cqb8XH7I
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) September 16, 2024
After the game, Wilson took to Twitter/X to celebrate the “Team W.”
Team W! 🔥🔥 https://t.co/etvzLKOxZV
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) September 16, 2024
Wilson completed 66.4% of his passes last season and threw 26 touchdown passes compared to eight interceptions. He was also sacked 45 times in 15 games before being benched.
Broncos coach Sean Payton opted to release Wilson this spring, a move that created the largest dead money cap hit in NFL history ($53 million). Payton replaced Wilson by using a first-round pick to select Oregon quarterback Bo Nix in the 2024 NFL draft.
Through two games this season, Nix has no touchdown passes and four interceptions and Denver’s off to an 0-2 start.
