With both teams eliminated from the playoffs, the Las Vegas Raiders (-3)
Wager $10 on LV
To Beat DEN:
$16.17
Win by 3:
$19.52
To Lose:
$23.60
and Denver Broncos (+3)
Wager $10 on DEN
To Beat LV:
$23.60
Lose by less than 3:
$18.70
To Lose:
$16.17
will be battling it out for pride during this Sunday’s Week 18 matchup. So, this week’s game preview will focus more on the offseason, and Mile High Report’s Ian St. Clair was kind enough to answer a few questions about the future of the Broncos for Raider Nation, sponsored by DraftKings Sportsbook.
Question: After giving up a haul to trade for him just two offseasons ago, it kind of seems like the Broncos are making a hasty decision to move on from Russell Wilson. Also, he has decent numbers. So, is this a situation where Wilson is being made the scapegoat to a certain extent, and/or Sean Payton just wants to bring in “his guy”?
Answer: This is an instance where numbers don’t tell the whole story. There’s no question that Wilson has been better this season. And his statistics compare with Patrick Mahomes. That’s pretty good. The problem is Wilson has been far from consistent.
There have been so many missed plays because of Wilson’s lack of confidence that cost Denver in key moments and games. Far too often this season Wilson disappeared when the Broncos needed him to play like a quarterback deserving of close to $250 million. Wilson failed to do that.
This season came down to four games for Denver, and in all of them, the Wilson-led offense made a late rally. But had Wilson played consistently and not disappeared in large stretches of those games, the Broncos would have won two of them and would still be alive for the playoffs. If not the AFC West.
All you have to do is look at Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers (-3.5)
Wager $10 on LAC
To Beat KC:
$15.56
Win by 3.5:
$19.26
To Lose:
$25.00
. Jarrett Stidham put up numbers similar to Wilson’s. The difference is Stidham makes $5 million a year.
Q: Building on that, who are the early favorites to be the starting quarterback in Denver next season? And is former Raider Jarrett Stidham auditioning for the job or just a placeholder for the time being?
A: My gut tells me Stidham is a placeholder who could return next season as a backup. As for the next Broncos starting quarterback, I would put the early favorite on a rookie. Who that rookie is remains to be seen. Perhaps Michael Penix Jr. Perhaps Bo Nix. Whether those guys are still available … I have no idea.
