Broncos Fans on Twitter Confused After Season-Ending Win Over Chargers

But that’s what happened on January 8, when divisive QB Russell Wilson and the Men of Orange bested Justin Herbert and the playoffs-bound Los Angeles Chargers, 31-28. And the reaction from Denver diehards on Twitter was understandable confusion.

The pessimistic tweeters tended to see the win as fool’s gold, and there’s plenty of justification for this take. After all, the Chargers’ post-season seeding was already set, making the results meaningless from that team’s perspective. And even though head coach Brandon Staley generally played his starters for the first three-quarters of the contest (a dubious decision, given injuries to wide receiver Mike Williams and defensive stud Joey Bosa), they exhibited a certain lack of urgency in the second half, when the Broncos came to life. Had something more tangible been at stake, the outcome could have been far different.

But the glass-half-full crowd had reasons for their take as well. Wilson initially looked like the prince of mediocrity, completing just two of his first nine passes for a grand total of 26 yards. But then came a 57-yard strike to Jerry Jeudy, who’s made a case for a contract extension in recent weeks, followed quickly by an end-zoner to Eric Tomlinson to tie the score just before halftime at 17 — more than Denver’s total in eleven individual games this season. And Wilson kept up the pace during the final thirty minutes, when he looked like the sort of signal-caller Broncos execs thought they’d be getting when they engineered a trade with the Seattle Seahawks and paid Russ a king’s ransom to stick around for the long term.

Of course, Seattle backed into the playoffs yesterday under the leadership of Geno Smith, Wilson’s backup, while Denver finished with a desultory 5-12 mark. Granted, most of the defeats were earned under coach Nathaniel Hackett, who was fired on December 26 after the Broncos were blown out by the Los Angeles Rams, and the players have looked far sharper under tough-talking temporary fill-in Jerry Rosburg. But even with a new HC (Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and onetime New Orleans Saints leader Sean Payton are the candidates getting the biggest buzz), it remains unclear whether Wilson will be able to do more in Denver than buy an expensive house and make people cringe every time he utters the catchphrase “Let’s ride.”

Still, Wilson’s role in a pre-game tribute to recovering Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin earned its emotion, and suggested that if a new leader can build on the gains made by Rosburg in the last couple of weeks, the Broncos could be worth watching next year. For now, though, we could all use a break.

Continue to see our picks for the twenty most memorable post-game tweets:

Number 20:

I really think it was a coaching problem look how fast the Broncos turned this thing around in just two weeks. I think we need a coach just like this coach we had in two weeks.

— CaptainSparrow (@C_j_sparrow44) January 9, 2023

Number 19:

BRONCOS GET THE W! good way to end the season but thank goodness this season is over, looking forward to the next one

— NEFF303 (@NEFF303) January 9, 2023

Number 18:

Broncos Country… let’s thank god it’s over.

— Mark Walters (@rmarkwalters3) January 9, 2023

Number 17:

Russel Wilson needs to be arrested for felonious fraud he robbed the Denver broncos of $200+ million they thought he had something to do with Seahawks success over the years but scrub Geno Smith has a better year than him in his first year https://t.co/XVuFJyIyH2

— RBS(@1RBS_3) January 9, 2023

Number 16:

Russ doing all he can but Broncos need upgrades and fixes all over the damn place.Front office need to get creative real quick. pic.twitter.com/xVPo2pUMsh

— Brinderkins (@Brinderkins) January 9, 2023

Number 15:

Walmart: Everyday low prices.

Walmart taking over the Denver Broncos: Everyday low expectations.

— Tobby E. Smith (@TobbyESmith) January 9, 2023

Number 14:

What would tne Broncos’s record been if Rosburg took over in game 4?

— Robb Cheuvront (@CheuvrontRobb) January 9, 2023

Number 13:

Bro almost everyone had broncos going in the wild card at least, I saw a lot of people even saying they gonna win the division over the chiefs, which I thought was crazy, but broncos should be a playoff team. Nobody expected what was gonna happen, nobody saw Wilson falling hard.

— Chase Appleby (@shotsling41) January 9, 2023

Number 12:

Well, both @Broncos and @Lions go out on wins after relatively terrible seasons. Lions belong in postseason over TB and what might have been here in Denver ….

On to Snowboarding, Nuggs and Avs until March Madness

— GONE SNOWBOARDING (@RamblinDuck303) January 9, 2023

Number 11:

Can’t get over how the Broncos traded away 3 players and 5 future draft picks just to get worse lmao

— Frankie Leal (@Panchitoleal10) January 9, 2023

Number 10:

Exactly. He is not washed at all. The Broncos made a big mistake in hiring Hackett. He was the problem all along. Outten credit to him he made Russ cook. Outten should have been the play caller but Hackett’s ego wouldn’t allow him to do so.

— Leroy Williams (@LeroyWi96701131) January 9, 2023

Number 9:

Honestly? All halves matter. Over Russ final 4 starts, Russ accounted for 10 TDs. That’s a 17 game pace of 42. Mahomes had 44 this year. He did it with two different play callers, two different HC. I remained unconvinced that he’s actually broken.

— Broncos Truther (@honestly_orange) January 9, 2023

Number 8:

@Broncos now that the season is over and Seattle made the playoffs can we admit that the entire organization got fleeced?

— Scott M Osborne (@MScottyboy260) January 9, 2023

Number 7:

this is sad as fuck #Seahawks made the playoffs before the broncos woww. Geno Smith is in playoffs over Russell Wilson #NFLTwitter

— Jordan BIG SCORPIO (14-3)(19-21) (@scorpiogoodvibe) January 9, 2023

Number 6:

Can’t believe the season is over! Even through the misery of it, I was excited to cheer on the @Broncos every week & my Sundays are going to be so lame without them so glad we finished it on a good note and I’m super excited for next season once we nail down the right coach

— S (@shelbella_) January 9, 2023

Number 5:

My team for the first time this season i think…scored over 30 points and won the game. Let’s go Broncos. That’s what we were trying to watch

— Yoshiiisora(@LofiiSora) January 9, 2023

Number 4:

me: yay! @Broncos won! wooooooo!

also me: season’s over. #BroncosCountry

— Farook Qais (@farook112) January 9, 2023

Number 3:

Russ will forever be my favorite QB and this is just another reminder why. All about Jesus happy they ended with a W today

— Paige Accinelli (@pnaciii) January 9, 2023

Number 2:

Going to bed happy with a Broncos win. I miss this feeling so much! I need the team I know and love to get back to respectability so badly! It matters!

— cusportsgirl???????? (@CUSportsGirl) January 9, 2023

Number 1:

Thank the lord. It’s over.

— DenverBroncosUSA (@Broncos_USA) January 9, 2023