Russell Wilson to miss Week 7 game vs. New York Jets
After originally being labeled a game-time decision for his team’s Week 7 duel with the New York Jets, Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson is now expected to miss the game, per reports.
While Russell Wilson wanted to play despite a hamstring injury and did everything he could to play, the Broncos HC Nathaniel Hackett will hold back the 9-time Pro Bowl QB vs. the Jets to allow him to heal and prevent a lingering injury, per sources.
Brett Rypien gets the start. pic.twitter.com/UR11TisM8S
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 22, 2022
Wilson is dealing with a hamstring injury. The nine-time Pro Bowler aimed to play this week but is being held out by head coach Nathaniel Hackett to give him more time to heal.
With Wilson sidelined, the Broncos will turn to backup quarterback Brett Rypien.
Rypien is a familiar name for Jets fans. He led the Broncos to a 37-28 victory over the Jets back in Week 4 of the 2020 season, knocking the Jets down to an 0-4 start.
The Jets team Rypien defeated was much different than the one Rypien will see tomorrow. Connor McGovern and Quinnen Williams are the only starters from that game who still start for New York. Eighteen of the other 20 starters are no longer on the Jets; Jeff Smith is a backup and George Fant is injured.
To this day, Rypien’s win over New York remains the only start of his four-year career. He signed with Denver as an undrafted free agent out of Boise State in 2019 but has only appeared in four regular season games. His last appearance came in Week 17 of the 2021 season, when he went 0-for-2 in a short relief stint.
Despite the win, Rypien was not very effective in his first matchup against the Jets, completing 19-of-31 passes for 242 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions (67.6 passer rating). One of those interceptions was a pick-six by Pierre Desir.
Pierre Desir pick-six on Rypien 😤
Jets DB gets his second INT of the night
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/p87nt2g7FS
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) October 2, 2020
The majority of Rypien’s career regular-season work came in that game (31 of his 42 all-time pass attempts). For his career, Rypien has completed 27-of-42 passes for 295 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions, giving him a passer rating of 61.2. In his preseason career, Rypien has a similarly unremarkable passer rating of 72.9.
Russell Wilson is playing at a career-worst level this season, but he’s still well ahead of what Rypien has shown in his small sample size of opportunities. Wilson has an 83.4 passer rating this season, tossing 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
Denver is ranked last in the NFL with 15.2 points per game. Now being led by an unproven backup quarterback who has struggled in the league, the Broncos’ offense is as vulnerable as ever. Denver does still have an elite defense (4th-best with 16.5 points allowed per game), however.
The Wilson news has pushed the Jets up to 1.5-point road favorites. They opened the week as 3.5-point underdogs.
