Team Notes week 13 2022

As ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold pointed out, in a season in which the only thing the Denver Broncos can consistently do, it seems, is raise their own frustration level with one loss after another, a brief sideline blowup between defensive tackle Mike Purcell and quarterback Russell Wilson was caught on camera Sunday.

It came early in the fourth quarter of the Broncos' eighth loss of the season. And while both players were quick to dismiss the incident after the Panthers' 23-10 victory, it was clear the team's seventh loss in the past eight games had taken a toll.

"Frustration," Purcell said of the incident. "We all want to spark on something. We are all in this together, period. That's the quarterback of our offense, they're about to take the field. ... Obviously, [the defense wasn't] doing our job, but got to get a spark somewhere. They're about to take the field, that's all it was."

Purcell had just been flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty during a 26-yard field goal from Panthers kicker Eddy Pineiro with 13 minutes, 33 seconds left in the game. As he went to the sideline, he was seen shouting at Wilson, who responded before Purcell started shouting again.

"I had just got a penalty on a field goal block, frustrated for everything," Purcell said. "Frustrated for everything, we didn't do our job on defense ... just not good enough."

"Mike and I are on the same page," Wilson said. "He came off after they kicked a field goal, he was pissed off, he just said, 'We've got, we've got to F'in' go,' and I agree. We're on the same page -- there's no animosity there at all.

"We've got to win. We've got to come out here and have some grit to us, some mentality to us. We've got to win these football games," Wilson added. "Those guys are out there battling every play, and offense, we've got to be able to capitalize. So, yeah, there's nothing there at all, me and him -- there's nothing there."

Broncos players have been asked many times over the past two months if there is a growing rift in the locker room because of the team's offense. The Broncos are the lowest-scoring team in the league -- 14.3 points per game -- and Sunday's loss was the ninth time this season when they've scored 16 or fewer points, the fourth time they've scored 10 or fewer points.

But having surrendered a 100-yard rushing performance as well as a 100-yard receiving effort in each of the past two games -- losses to the Las Vegas Raiders and the Panthers -- some of the Broncos' defensive leaders were quick to point out there is enough blame to go around.

"We didn't play good enough to win, we didn't stop the run, we didn't stop the explosives," safety Justin Simmons said. "No way you're going to win games like that."

"We didn't do enough," said linebacker Josey Jewell. "This one was not a good one."

Simmons said he had spoken to Purcell after the game and said he would talk to Wilson as well.

"I think the chemistry with this group is still great," Simmons said. "I think when you put as much into it as you do week in and week out and you don't get the results, it can be frustrating. So as frustrated as everyone is watching, you can imagine how guys are when they're the ones out there trying to put in the work and try to win football games.

"And some of that spills over. ... Those types of things happen in a game. Mike means well ... things aren't clicking for us as a team, not just on one side of the ball. ... Those things are going to happen."

Head coach Nathaniel Hackett said he didn't see the incident but said after the game he would talk to both players.

"I know they're both competitors. ... We'll get to the bottom of it," Hackett said.

Of course, Wilson and the offense struggled for much of Sunday's defeat in Charlotte.

The Broncos had negative net passing yardage until the late stages of the first half, and Denver's offense allowed three sacks and lost a fumble in the game.

Wilson finished the game 19-of-35 for 142 yards, one touchdown and a 73.7 quarterback rating.

"There is some semblance of newness with this whole group," Hackett said of Wilson, "and we've had a lot of changes throughout the offense with different people that have been out there playing with him, and we need to get him the confidence back to be able to make the plays that he can make, but he's out there and he's fighting every single play. I give him so much credit. He's taken a bunch of hits, and it's because he's trying to do everything he can to make a play. So I appreciate that on how he's doing that, and everybody's got to play better around him."

Hackett said the protection issues -- Wilson has now been sacked 12 times in the last three weeks -- cannot be pinned on one player.

"It's a combination of a lot of things," Hackett said. "It's not just one [person]. It's all 11 guys, it's the coaches. We need to get better plays where people are open faster for him. At the same time, we need to be better in pass protection, we need to be better route-runners. We all just need to be better across the board."

On a day when Wilson should have been able to celebrate a career milestone -- his touchdown pass was the 300th of his career, tying John Elway -- he instead was left with the reality of a loss.

"I'd rather win than anything else," Wilson said. "At the end of the day, the only record I really care about is winning. So we've got to find a way."

They'll have to do it with another cross country trip as they head for Baltimore to take on the Ravens (7-4).

As Legwold put it, "It's one thing when it's Raiders receiver Davante Adams romping through the defense, but when the offensively challenged Panthers, with their third different starting quarterback of the season and an interim head coach, line up and control the line of scrimmage, it should sound the alarm."

With the run-heavy Ravens next on the scheduled, the Broncos need some complementary football -- as in an offense that at least eats some time when it doesn't score any points -- or their defense will get pulled down into the losing swirl as well.

Looking for positives?

Running back Latavius Murray rushed for 92 yards on 17 carries, including a 52-yard jaunt, in the Broncos' first game since waiving fumble-prone Melvin Gordon.

Beyond that?

There's not much. ...

On the injury front. ... According to Associated Press sports writer Arnie Stapleton, receivers Jerry Jeudy (ankle) and K.J. Hamler (hamstring), who are showing by their absences how much the Broncos need them, have a fighting chance to return this week, although Jeudy was not scheduled to practice Wednesday.

In addition, the running back corps could receive reinforcements soon, as Hackett said Monday that Mike Boone could be close to returning to practice. The fifth-year running back was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 24 after suffering an ankle injury during the Broncos' Week 7 game against the Jets.

"The plan right now is, we're hoping to get Mike Boone [to] start his clock," Hackett said.

In fact, Boone was on the field Wednesday.

Under the NFL's protocol for returning players from injured reserve, the Broncos must designate Boone to return to start a 21-day window for him to join the team at practice. During that time, the Broncos would be able to evaluate Boone's status before deciding whether to activate him or keep him on IR.

Boone's return might have been foreshadowed when the Broncos waived running back Devine Ozigbo on Monday. ...

Hackett also added that fullback/tight end Andrew Beck is day to day with a hamstring injury. ...

One last note here regarding the injuries. ... According to Legwold, it becomes clearer with each dismal showing on offense that with a league-leading number of players on injured reserve, the Broncos continue to call plays for the team they wish they had on the field instead of the one actually in uniform.

In Carolina, when the game was still in the balance, they continued to play with the formation wide open, as if their left tackle and starting center aren't on injured reserve -- and as if three of the receivers in uniform aren't undrafted players, with two being rookies.

Those are coaching-related issues.

Plenty of Broncos fans are hoping that a change will be made at the coaching position, sooner than later.

As Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio noted on Sunday, as best we can tell, that's currently very unlikely.

Florio went on to note the Wal-Mart moguls who bought the team in August have kept their cards very close to the vest. They are very smart. They are very methodical. They are not panicking.

And there's really no reason to.

Other than today, every game was close. Injuries have depleted the roster. The players continue to play hard.

On Monday, Hackett was asked by reporters what his message would be to fans who are sufficiently frustrated to want him out.

"Nobody is as frustrated as I am," Hackett said. "This is not where we wanted to be at this time in the season. None of us thought it was going to be like this and that responsibility is fully on me. I want to be the one that can do everything to help this football team because we, as a group, have to come together and find a way to win a football game. We can't play the way that we played yesterday and expect to win a football game. It starts with me from practice preparation and every single thing that we do. I'm the most frustrated. I think that our fans are great. They want to win, just like we all do. I don't blame them for being frustrated. For me, all I know is to work and put my head down with our staff. I believe in this staff, and I believe in these players. We have to get better plays and better execution across the board."

They have six more games to show that they can get it done. As Florio explained, it's highly unlikely that Hackett will be fired before the season ends. After Week 18, however, all bets are off.

You can access complete stats for the Broncos Week 12 game via our exclusive Fantasy BoxScore.

DEPTH CHART
QBs: Zach Wilson, Jarrett Stidham
RBs: Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, Samaje Perine
WRs: Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr., Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Brandon Johnson
TEs: Adam Trautman, Chris Manhertz, Greg Dulcich