by Richard Sherman wasn’t a fan of the Denver Broncos throwing a fourth-and-1 with a chance to win an overtime game against the Indianapolis Colts in Thursday night’s 12-9 loss. The Broncos didn’t have to go for the jugular and get all 5 yards from the Colts’ 5-yard line, but they put the ball in Russell Wilson’s hands to win the game.
Wilson threw an incomplete pass, testing Colts cornerback Stephon Gilmore as the former Defensive Player of the Year broke up the pass intended for Courtland Sutton. That won the game for Indianapolis and brought back a familiar flashback for Sherman when he came out on the “Thursday Night Football” show after the game.
“You have to run the ball,” Sherman said. “Again, I wish I had Marshawn (former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch) here. Run the ball. You need 1 yard. Run the ball. Run the ball! It’s all about running the football.
“Criticism needed. I’ve said enough criticism about him, but God did — run the ball!”
Sherman had it with the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX when the Seahawks were down 28-24 at the New England Patriots 1-yard line with 25 seconds left. On second-and-goal, Wilson threw a slant up the middle that was picked off by Malcolm Butler to seal the Patriots’ victory and take away Seattle’s Super Bowl repeat.
The Seahawks — and Wilson — could have given the ball to Lynch. Instead, Wilson threw the ball and the takeaway created a wide gap in the Seahawks locker room. Sherman has expressed his frustration with the decision in the past and used the opportunity to take subtle jabs at Wilson after the game.
Wilson had a wide open KJ Hamler on the play, but it went up the middle to Sutton. To make matters worse. Melvin Gordon is a great shortstop who has 23 1-yard rushes since 2016 – trailing only Derrick Henry for the most in football since the 2016 season.
Is that for Wilson or head coach Nathaniel Hackett — who has faced his own share of management trouble in his short career. Hackett handed the Colt the gun on that fourth-and-1 play, letting Indianapolis know a pass was coming. Wilson, who had been struggling all night, didn’t even try to just go through the spades. Instead, he went for the end zone and misfired when targeting Sutton.
Hackett said the Broncos wanted won the game and “got to go for it”, creating even more speculation that the project was not his calling.
Whatever happened in that decision-making process, running the ball wasn’t an option. Maybe Sherman is on to something here.
