Russell Wilson booed on his return to Seattle; the new Broncos QB completed 29 of 42 throws for 340 yards and a touchdown but couldn't avoid defeat; watch Thursday Night Football - Los Angeles Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs - live on Sky Sports NFL, 1.20am, Friday
Tuesday 13 September 2022 07:54, UK
Former Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was booed and beaten on his return to Seattle as his Denver Broncos side suffered a 17-16 defeat on Monday Night Football to close out Week One of the 2022 NFL season.
Wilson, who spent the first 10 seasons of his NFL career in Seattle - winning them a Super Bowl in the 2013 season, sought a trade from the Seahawks this offseason and ultimately joined Denver in March in exchange for a collection of players and draft picks going the other way.
Wilson, who recently since signed a five-year, $245 million contract extension with the Broncos, was greeted with hearty boos every time he stepped on the field from the notoriously loud Seattle home crowd. Despite that, the quarterback played well, completing 29 of 42 passes for 340 yards and a touchdown.
But Denver was ultimately made to pay for its inefficiency in the redzone, with both of their running backs, Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams, fumbling on plays snapped at the Seattle goal line with the Broncos seemingly set to score a touchdown. Kicker Brandon McManus also missed with a 64-yard field goal attempt with 20 seconds left to see the Seahawks hang on.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith threw two first-half touchdown passes on the night, finishing 23 of 28 for 195 yards. Though he was 17 of 18 for 164 yards in the first half, with Seattle held scoreless in the second. Denver couldn't capitalise, however, adding only three points to their score after the break.
There will be questions over new Denver head coach Nathaniel Hackett's game management late in the game. The Broncos, facing a faced fourth-and-5 at the Seattle 46-yard line and with three timeouts left, ran significant time off the clock before deciding to have McManus try a long field goal, instead of giving Wilson the chance to go for it on fourth down.
In some worrying news for the Seahawks, safety Jamal Adams suffered what head coach Pete Carroll said after the game was a "serious injury to his left quadriceps tendon". Adams limped off the field after nearly sacking Wilson in the first quarter and eventually was driven away on a cart.
Broncos
Seahawks
Broncos quarterback, Wilson: "For me, Seattle's been amazing for me. Anybody who thinks any other words, they don't know my heart, and they don't know how much this city has meant to me.
"Tonight was special, it was on the other side than I'm used to, but it was still a special environment and a place I've always loved."
[On the boos]: "It didn't bother me, you know, it's a hostile environment, it always has been, I didn't expect them to give a round of applause every once in a while.
"I've played in some of the biggest games on the planet, more people watching than anywhere else. This was a special game, just because I got to see and play against some of my closest friends and just be around them.
"And to be in the stadium again, this stadium's been special for me. I wouldn't be where I am today without this place, and so I'm grateful for that."
Week Two in the NFL kicks off with a mouth-watering Thursday Night Football matchup between AFC West rivals the Los Angeles Chargers (1-0) and Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) at Arrowhead Stadium. Watch it live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.20am on Friday morning.
Next up for the Seahawks is a divisional clash of their own against the San Francisco 49ers (0-1) at Levi's Stadium on Sunday at 9.05pm, while the Broncos host the Houston Texans (0-0-1) at 9.25pm on the same night.
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