Russell Wilson had a chance to add to his NFL-leading four game-winning-drives and fourth-quarter comeback, instead the Denver Broncos quarterback ended his day with a game-sealing third second-half interception.
The Broncos five-game win streak ended in Houston on Sunday as the Texans won the turnover battle (3-0) and game (22-17) in a pivotal late-season matchup with big playoff implications. Now Denver is at risk of adding to their second-longest playoff drought in the NFL, falling to 6-6 and losing a tiebreaker to the Texans.
Unlike the games during the streak where Wilson made no critical errors, his mistakes may have doomed Denver’s season for good this year.
“You hate losing, you know, I think more than else as a competitor and everything else you always want to win,” Wilson said after the game. “You need to go out there to go out there and play to win. And you’re battling each play. That was a that was a great game, back and forth. We felt like we were coming out on top, and I think that more than anything else, I got to play cleaner. We all got to we all got to be better, but I got to play cleaner. And then I think the biggest thing is remaining neutral. There is a lot more ball left.”
Wilson’s Broncos were playing the first of three games on the road, and with five games left on the year only one of their opponents looked playoff-bound.
“We went on a five-game win streak, and we’re hoping we’re gonna get six tonight, but we got to do it again,” Wilson said. “And I think the biggest thing is just, you know, continue to stay focused on us stay focused on each other stay focused on learning, getting better every day, knowing that there’s gonna be adversity and challenges especially this time of year. There are always challenges and so weather the storm, understand that there are better days ahead.”
Wilson’s interceptions came on three of Denver’s last four drives with his lone touchdown tucked in between. The picks led to one Texans touchdown, a punt, and the conclusion of the game.
“The first one was tipped, they made a good play. The second one, I took a shot down the field to Courtland (Sutton,) but he made a heck of a play. I don’t know how he made that play, to be honest with you. Then the last one was, I was trying to win the game, trying to get the ball up high in the endzone and they made a play,” Wilson said. “I think the first one is just you know, part of the game football. Last two they made good plays.”
The embattled quarterback is in his second season of playing in Denver and arguably just had his strongest stretch of play yet. He signed a mega contract after the giant trade from Seattle brought him to the Mile High City ahead of last season.
“It’s it’s already gone, that’s the tough part, I felt like we could have won this game,” Wilson said. “We felt like we were battling back and forth. The defense did a great job of keeping us in there and battling, and then in the second half, we started to get going, especially in the late third, middle of the fourth quarter. So you know, the reality is we got to be better. You know, I got to start with me being better. And, you know, I’m looking forward to getting back to work.”