There have been some excellent games thus far in the 2022 NFL season but Thursday Night Football in Week 5 was not one of them. The Indianapolis Colts visited the Denver Broncos in what will rank as one of the worst games of the entire season.
The Colts entered the game with one of the worst offenses in the league thus far and were without star running back Jonathan Taylor. The Broncos have a lot of talent on offense but the adjustment to Nathaniel Hackett’s system is taking some time to get used to, resulting in some ugliness on offense as well.
Combine that with two very good defenses and you get a game that fans won’t forget about for a long time but for all of the wrong reasons. It was a record-setting performance by the teams after all.
Matt Ryan and Russell Wilson, the starting quarterbacks in the game, have both accomplished some great things during their careers, but Thursday night was a rough performance for both of them. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Thursday was the first game in NFL history that featured two opposing quarterbacks each passing for 250+ yards while neither team scored a touchdown.
There have been seven games that featured a quarterback throwing for 200+ yards and neither team scored a touchdown. Shockingly, Wilson has been involved in three straight of those instances.
There were 12 punts, four interceptions and one blocked field goal throughout the game as both offenses struggled mightily. Overtime was the most we saw them move the ball, as the Colts gained 45 yards on eight plays during their drive and the Broncos gained 70 on six.
It was Indianapolis who ultimately came out on top, as their drive resulted in a field goal. Hackett decided to put the ball in Wilson’s hands at the end and the Broncos came up short on 4th and 1 from the five, as their red zone offense has been abysmal all season and Wilson has failed to step up when needed.
The $245 million man missed K.J. Hamler wide-open on the final play of the game for what would have been a walk-in touchdown. Instead, he was locked in on Courtland Sutton, who was blanketed by Stephon Gilmore, who made Wilson’s life a living hell during the last two Broncos drives of the game.
