CNN
—
He may have brought the Seattle Seahawks their first Super Bowl title, but when he returned to the Pacific Northwest with his new team on Monday, Russell Wilson was certainly not a hero.
Wilson – now the Denver Broncos quarterback after being traded from the Seahawks after a successful 10-year stint – was booed by the majority inside Lumen Field when he first took to the grill under their new colors.
And the night didn’t get any better for Wilson, as he and the Broncos were trailed 17-16 by the Seahawks.
However, Wilson said he expected a hostile reception when he returned to the city he had called home for a decade.
“It didn’t bother me, you know, it’s a hostile environment, it always has been. I didn’t expect them to cheer every once in a while,” Wilson said with a smile after the game.
The 33-year-old added: “For me, Seattle has been amazing for me. Like I said, anyone who thinks of other words doesn’t know my heart and how much this city has meant to me. Tonight was special, it was on the other side of what I’m used to, but it was still a special environment and a place I’ve always loved.
It would still be a memorable return to Seattle for Wilson.
The Seahawks drafted the quarterback with a third-round pick in 2012. During his time in the Pacific Northwest, he guided the franchise to eight postseason appearances, including two Super Bowl appearances and a championship win in 2014.
However, after Wilson’s relationship with Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll broke down in recent years, he was traded to the Broncos in the offseason for a huge blow in a trade that sent shockwaves through the sport.
Upon arriving in Denver, he signed a five-year extension with the team worth $245 million and his debut came at his old home turf in Seattle.
However, it was his replacement on the Seattle sideline who really stole the show.
Geno Smith, who had been the backup behind Wilson, looked steady in his first start since the end of the Wilson era, finishing with 195 yards on 23/28 passing with two touchdowns.
Wilson threw for 340 yards on a 29/42 pass and a touchdown, but the game ended with the ball out of his hands despite the resources invested in his signing.
After a sloppy second half from both teams, including two fumbles from the yard line on back-to-back possessions to start the second half for Denver, Wilson led his team down the field in the final two minutes.
With 20 seconds remaining, fourth-and-five on the Seattle 46-yard line, Denver’s first-year coach Nathaniel Hackett had a decision to make: let his new big-money quarterback try to get them the required yardage or attempt a very long field goal. ?
In the end, Hackett chose the safer option of a 64-yard field goal attempt in the dying seconds to earn a victory from the jaws of defeat.
However, Brandon McManus’ attempt flew left, meaning Wilson’s return to Seattle ended in disappointment.
But after the game, Wilson stressed that he supported Hackett’s decision to go for the basket rather than let him try to keep the offense moving.
“I believe in Coach Hackett,” Wilson said. “I believe in what we do. Believe in everything, and anytime you can try to find a way to play fourth and fifth, that’s fine too. Also, I don’t think it was the wrong decision. I think [McManus] can do it.”
The loss means that in a fiercely competitive AFC West, the Broncos are already behind the eightball, as the Geno Smith era in Seattle begins with aplomb.