National Football League

Russell Wilson on pressure: 'I don't run from it. I look forward to it.'

Updated Aug. 24, 2023 6:35 p.m. ET

The 2022 NFL season was an absolute mess for the Denver Broncos. Quarterback Russell Wilson had arguably the worst season of his career, and the team struggled so mightily that first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired after just 15 games.

With Sean Payton now at the helm in Denver, the Broncos face a stiff AFC West slate that includes the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders, and there's a lot of pressure on Wilson to right the ship. Wilson recently said that he isn't fazed by the pressure and, if anything, he'll "run to it" as opposed to shying away from it.

On Thursday's edition of "The Carton Show," FOX Sports NFL analyst Greg Jennings made the case for why Wilson is well-equipped to get back on track in 2023.

"Why can't he bounce back?" Jennings asked. "He [has] been a great quarterback in this league. For me, you change from top-down. You switch out who's communicating, who's pouring into him, who's making those deposits — the correct type of deposits — and you allow him to then flourish.

"This is why you acquire Sean Payton because you believe you have somebody Russell Wilson is going to listen to."

Last season, Wilson totaled 3,524 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and an 84.4 passer rating, completing 60.5% of his passes. The passing touchdowns, passer rating and completion percentage were all a career worst. To boot, Denver averaged just 16.9 points per game, the worst mark in the NFL.

Prior to landing in Denver, Wilson made nine Pro Bowl rosters and won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seattle Seahawks. Denver traded a first- and second-round draft pick to the New Orleans Saints to acquire Payton — who took a year off from coaching in 2022 — and a third-rounder.

That said, Craig Carton argued that history is against Wilson, 34, resurrecting his career.

"There are zero examples in the history of the NFL of a quarterback in his mid-30s playing as lousy as he played last year and all of a sudden rediscovering the fountain of youth and becoming an All-Pro, "Carton said. "It has never happened before."

To make matters worse, Wilson could be without star wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who was carted off the field with an apparent hamstring injury in a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, for the foreseeable future. The Broncos' receiving corps is already without wideouts Tim Patrick, who tore his left Achilles tendon early in camp, and Jalen Virgil, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in the Broncos' preseason game last week.

Wilson and the Broncos begin the 2023 regular season on Sept. 10, as they host the rival Raiders.

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