Can Russell Wilson pull a Baker Mayfield? Broncos QB’s showdown vs Chiefs in Week 14 spotlight
Between Baker Mayfield and Russell Wilson, it is a chapter of comebacks in the NFL. On Monday Night Football, Tom Brady led a 14-point comeback late in the fourth quarter which was one of the year's best finishes.
Then, just a few days later, on Thursday Night Football, Baker Mayfield led an arguably more impressive 14-point comeback after spending two days with the team and beginning the week as a member of the Carolina Panthers. Most expected Tom Brady's comeback to be the only one this week, but the Rams quarterback proved them wrong.
Now, most are assuming that the Rams comeback will be the last such comeback for quite some time. Could it, however, be part two of a three-part arc? Russell Wilson is leading a 3-9 team into a nearly impossible mission against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, just like the Rams quarterback did.
They're coming off a loss and the quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs doesn't like losing streaks. Could the Broncos quarterback shine a light this Sunday in a darkly lost year?
Baker Mayfield…how?
Put simply, those in charge of the Sunday Night Football schedule didn't think so, as the game was flexed from the primetime slot back to the mid-games of the day in a likely attempt to somewhat hide what many are bracing to be an ugly blowout.
That being said, Russell Wilson is one of the kings of the comeback and was brought in to do what no other quarterback has been able to do. It has been about 2500 days since the Broncos last beat the team led by Andy Reid, according to KDVR. As far as rivalries go, this is one of the most slanted in the league.
In comparison, the rivalry is on a similar wavelength as the Chicago Bears when facing Aaron Rodgers or the New York Jets when facing Tom Brady while he was in New England. Put simply, it would take a miracle, but in a week in which two such miracles have already occurred, anything is possible.
🗣️BAKER!!! GO CRAZY!!
Russell Wilson's history of Baker Mayfield-esque breakout comebacks
The new quarterback of the Denver Broncos hasn't always been known to lose close games. When he took over for the Seattle Seahawks, they were a far cry from where they were under quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, when they reached the Super Bowl in 2005.
When their new quarterback, Matt Flynn, took over in 2012, most dismissed the team as just another team in the NFL. However, a couple of surprising victories helped to flip the script on the team's image.
The first such game ended with what is known as the "Fail Mary," when, during a referee holdout replacement referees were in charge of officiating a Packers-Seahawks game on Monday Night Football.
The game initially went the way of the Packers, but the Seahawks had an opportunity for a hail mary late in the game. Some called the result an interception while others called it a touchdown. An infamous shot of one referee signaling a touchdown and the other signaling an incomplete pass marked the arrival of the team.
Later, Wilson and Rodgers faced each other in the NFC Championship game with the Super Bowl on the line. The Packers dominated the game for three and a half quarters. The Seahawks needed a big fourth quarter and an onside kick to win the game. They scored 15 points in the quarter to force overtime and then scored a game-winning touchdown in overtime.
Put simply, the Broncos will need a similarly memorable game to win and likely a similarly unlikely fourth quarter as well. Can Russell Wilson, who was brought in to beat Patrick Mahomes, do his job?