As the Broncos continue to try to reverse their misfortunes on the fly, their underperforming starting quarterback has identified the one specific portion of the game in which the offense underperforms the most.
Yes at a time when many are pointing a finger at No. 3, No. 3 is pointing a finger at the third quarter.
“Our third quarters have been part of why we are where we are,” Russell Wilson told reporters on Wednesday, via Mike Klis of 9News.com. “It’s not even a part of it -- it’s a big part of it. I think we’ve had pretty good first halves for the most part, decent. Some better than others, but the third quarters have slowed us down tremendously.”
The obvious explanation is that opposing defenses are doing a good job of using halftime to make adjustments to what the Denver offense is doing, and that the Denver offense is struggling to stay ahead of the guys who are trying to stop it.
“So that’s something I’m focused on over the next few days and going into this game [at Carolina] and the rest of the games we have this year,” Wilson said. “And hopefully we can turn it around.”
It’s unclear what Wilson personally can do to ensure better overall offensive performance in the third quarter. But the problem has been identified. It will be up to the players and the coaches to fix it.
The more important question is why was it broken in the first place? Again, something has kept the Broncos from getting things going immediately after intermission. There’s a good chance that, like so many other issues with the 2022 Broncos offense, it’s not about what the other team is doing well but what the Broncos aren’t.