Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson accepted the lion's share of blame for his side's 12-9 overtime loss at home against the Indianapolis Colts.
Wilson completed 21 of 39 passes for 274 yards and two interceptions in Thursday's game, with the second interception proving especially costly late in the fourth quarter.
With less than two and a half minutes remaining, leading 9-6, the Broncos opted to pass the ball to try to seal the game, but instead Wilson took a shot at the endzone and was picked off by former defensive player of the year Stephon Gilmore.
The Colts ended up driving down the field to tie the game as time expired, before kicking another field goal on the first drive of overtime to put the pressure back on the Broncos.
Wilson completed long passes to Jerry Jeudy and Mike Boone to move inside the 10-yard line, but when faced with a fourth-and-one at the five-yard line, they decided to go for it instead of kicking for the tie.
The final throw of the game was broken up once again by Gilmore in the endzone, relegating the Broncos to a 2-3 record with one of the worst offenses in the NFL in the first year of Wilson's five-year, $242million contract.
Speaking after the game, Wilson did not hide from his struggles, saying he needs to figure it out in a hurry.
"It's very simple, at the end of the day I've got to be better, I've got to play better," he said. "This team, our defense played their butts off tonight, we had some key, good drives and we moved the ball into the red zone, but we didn't get to capitalise on some of them.
"At the end of the day, those two interceptions can't happen. Can't happen. I let the team down tonight, but the good thing is, one thing I know about myself is I'm going to respond – I don't know any other way.
"I always believe in myself, I always believe in this team and what we can do, and what I can do.
"When you play this game, the one thing you know is you're going to go through adversity, and with adversity you get a choice. I'm always going to choose to understand that adversity is just temporary, and you're going to overcome the obstacles and battles.
"We're all working together, we're all still together and focused on trying to do whatever it takes. It starts with me, and I'll make sure I do that."
Touching on the final play, Wilson said it was the right decision to go for it.
"We had a good play-call on, we went to Courtland [Sutton] there and the guy [Gilmore] made a good play," he said.
"I was ready to move around if we needed to – we came up with a big fourth-and-two a couple drives before – so we went for it.
"We didn't want to end in a tie, we wanted to try and win the game. That was our mentality. I think coach made a good call, I think I've got to find a way to make a play, whatever it takes.
"The thing about close games… is it comes down to finding a way. We've found a way before, but this time we didn't."
Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett also accepted blame for Wilson's struggles, saying he needs to figure out how to get his star quarterback into a rhythm and get points on the board.
"We want to always try to get him into a rhythm, and I didn't feel like we were able to get him into that," Hackett said. "It starts with me, to be able to get him into that rhythm with the receivers and tight ends.
"There were a couple of opportunities – we had a couple of drops again, and a couple of penalties – we keep continually hurting ourselves, and I think that's the thing that's frustrating.
"We need to address it as an offense, and we need to fix that, because the performance from the defense was spectacular, and we're wasting those great opportunities to go win a football game."
Hackett also said he did not regret his final play-call, calling it "a good decision".
"We wanted to win the game," he said. "We hadn't moved the ball very well the whole night, and I thought we had a spectacular drive to get all the way down there.
"It ended up being fourth-and-one, we got the 'go' to go for it, and I thought that was a good decision. We wanted to put the ball in Russell's hands and call a play that we know he really likes – and it didn't work out.
"The timeout before was to get a feel for what they were doing, and the run did not look as good as we hoped it would have, and it gave us a chance with Russell. That's all you can ask for in that situation to win the game."
Edge rusher Hendrickson reportedly requests trade from Bengals
A day before the NFL draft, one of the league's best edge rushers has requested a trade.
Three-time Pro Bowler Trey Hendrickson has asked to be traded from the Cincinnati Bengals on Wednesday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Hendrickson, who is set to make $14.8million this season and $15.8million in 2025, is reportedly seeking a long-term deal - something that hasn't been worked out with the Bengals.
His request to be traded comes at an intriguing time with the draft set for Thursday, as another team could be looking to make a deal with Cincinnati for the established pass rusher.
The 29-year-old is coming off a career year, registering a personal-high 17 1/2 sacks to tie with Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Josh Allen for the second most in the league.
Hendrickson's 16 tackles for loss were tied for 10th in 2023, and his 53 sacks since the start of the 2020 season rank third behind T.J. Watt (62) and Myles Garrett (58).
A third-round pick by the New Orleans Saints in 2017, Hendrickson signed with the Bengals in 2021, and has been named a Pro Bowler in each of his three seasons in Cincinnati.
Hendrickson's request for a trade comes a little more than a month after wide receiver Tee Higgins asked to be traded.
Higgins, who had the franchise tag placed on him by the Bengals on February 26, did say earlier this month, however, that he intends to play for Cincinnati in 2024.
Fellow Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase had the fifth-year option on his rookie contract picked up on Wednesday.
Chase, the 2021 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, has 268 receptions for 3,717 yards and 29 touchdowns in his first three seasons - the team leader in each category since 2021.
Detroit Lions WR St. Brown gets $120M extension
The Detroit Lions have locked up one of their most important players for the foreseeable future by agreeing to a reported four-year, $120 million extension with wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
St. Brown, who was entering the final season of his rookie contract, confirmed the news Wednesday with a video message on his Instagram account.
"I can't wait. I'm here, four more years!," St. Brown announced.
One of the NFL's most productive receivers since entering the league as a fourth-round draft pick of the Lions in 2021, St. Brown will now be among the highest-paid players at his position. NFL.com reports the contract, which runs through 2028, includes $77 million in guaranteed money for the largest sum ever for a wide receiver.
The deal's $30 million average annual value is tied for the highest among wide receivers, matching the four-year, $120 million extension Tyreek Hill received from the Miami Dolphins in 2022.
St. Brown earned first team All-Pro honours with a brilliant 2023 campaign in which he finished in the NFL's top three in receptions (119) and receiving yards (1,515) and recorded a career-high 10 touchdown catches in 16 games.
The 24-year-old added 22 catches for 274 yards and a touchdown in three post-season games to help the NFC North champion Lions advance to the conference title game for the first time since 1991.
St. Brown's 315 career receptions are the third-most by any player in NFL history through his first three seasons, eclipsed only by Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson's 324 from 2020-22 and Michael Thomas' 321 with the New Orleans Saints from 2016-18.
The two-time Pro Bowler is also one of just three receivers in league history with 90 or more catches through his first three seasons, joining Thomas and Odell Beckham Jr. (2014-16).
Broncos reportedly trade for Jets QB Wilson
Zach Wilson has a chance to restart his career in a new setting after the Denver Broncos reportedly traded for the former starting quarterback from the New York Jets on Monday, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
The Broncos are also acquiring a seventh-round pick in this year's NFL draft, and the Jets will receive a sixth-rounder.
New York will also pay part of Wilson's $5.5million salary next season.
Wilson arrives in Denver after never living up to expectations with the Jets after the franchise selected him second overall in the 2021 draft.
He went 3-10 as a rookie in 2021, and things didn't improve in 2022, leading to his benching.
The Jets had seen enough and decided to move on from Wilson, trading for Aaron Rodgers prior to the 2023 season. Wilson, though, got another chance to start after Rodgers tore his Achilles on his first drive with New York in the season opener.
He was unable to take advantage of that opportunity, however, throwing for eight touchdowns and seven interceptions in 12 games in 2023. His 77.2 passer rating ranked 30th out of 32 qualifying QBs last season.
In 34 career games, he has completed 57.0 per cent of his passes for 6,293 yards with 23 TDs and 25 picks.
Among the 30 quarterbacks with a minimum of 700 pass attempts since 2021, Wilson ranks last in completion percentage and QB rating (73.2), and 29th in both touchdown passes and yards per attempt (6.34).
In Denver, he'll likely get a chance to compete for the starting QB job after the Broncos released Russell Wilson in early March.
The only other quarterbacks on Denver's roster are Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci, but the team could also decide to select one in Thursday's draft.
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