IN PHOTOS: Ciara swoons over husband Russell Wilson as Broncos QB turns 35
Russell Wilson must be one of the happiest men right now.
His Denver Broncos notched their fifth straight win on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, putting them firmly in the playoff hunt and seemingly validating their decision to hire Sean Payton as coach.
Three days since then, he has turned 35 years old. And he had the perfect partner to celebrate his birthday with – his pregnant wife Ciara, who posted a series of images of them smartly dressed for the occasion on Instagram.
Defense helps Russell Wilson's Broncos in shocking five-win streak
While Russell Wilson can take much credit for the Denver Broncos' surprising transformation from laughingstocks to playoff contenders, he is not the only reason for it.
The defense, led by coordinator Vance Joseph, has gone from dead last to sixth in points allowed (36.2 to 16.5) in the last six games. That has been aided by some major roster changes, headlined by the return of safeties Justin Simmons and PJ Locke from injury.
In addition, all the past hardships have created what young and fast-rising linebacker Nik Bonitto considered an attitude adjustment during Monday's presser:
“We had so much hardship throughout the beginning of the year, and I feel like all that stuff has made us closer ... not only as a defense but as a team. You can tell we’re all playing for each other out there.”
Coach Sean Payton concurred with him, particularly emphasizing their takeaways:
“The first thing I would say statistically speaking — when we were at 1-5 and then post 1-5 — is we've protected the ball better and taken it away better. ... Two weeks ago, with Minnesota, we didn't win those other (battles), and we only won that game because we won the turnover battle.”
But Wilson and the Broncos (6-5) still have much work to do, with the Indianapolis Colts (6-5) and Houston Texans (6-5) sitting above them via tiebreakers.
“You guys will handle that for me," Payton said. "I know you will. I'm just focused on what we have to do. ... I say that because it's that time of the year, and rightfully so, where there's a list of other (teams)."
The Broncos visit the Texans on Sunday.