Zach Wilson made the most of the final preseason game for the Denver Broncos to show why he should be the team’s No. 2 quarterback this season.
Wilson, the former Jets first-round pick, finished the exhibition tilt between the Broncos and Arizona Cardinals going 16-of-25 for 251 yards and two touchdown passes in a 38-12 win for Denver.
The former Jets starter has been in a battle for the backup job in Denver since training camp opened and made quite the impression in Sunday’s preseason finale.
Wilson, who also ran for a touchdown, even threw an impressive 46-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Johnson during the fourth quarter.
Zach Wilson of the Denver Broncos is pressured by Jesse Luketa of the Arizona Cardinals in the first quarter during the preseason game at Empower Field at Mile High on August 25, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. Getty Images
🎯🎯🎯
Zach Wilson ➡️ @_bj7_ for SIX!
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/rV9VJaJwSz
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) August 25, 2024
Jarrett Stidham did play for a short period of time during the game and the QB went 2-for-4 in pass attempts for 28 yards before Wilson entered the game near the end of the first quarter.
Rookie Bo Nix has already won the starting job.
“Both those guys looked good,” Broncos coach Sean Payton told reporters after the game. “We feel comfortable with all three.”
Payton added he’d like to keep all three QBs.
The effort by Wilson had both former NFL quarterback Chase Daniels and analyst Dan Orlovsky saying that he should be the back up somewhere in the league this season.
“Zach Wilson is absolutely balling. He’s earned a #2 job somewhere,” Daniels wrote on X,
“Should be the #2 in Denver,” Orlovsky wrote on social media.
Wilson ended up in Denver following continued struggles in New York after he was picked second overall by the Jets in 2021.
Zach Wilson of the Denver Broncos looks to hand the ball off against the Arizona Cardinals in the second quarter of a preseason game at Empower Field At Mile High on August 25, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. Getty Images
The Jets traded Wilson to Denver in April and the QB has seemed to find some comfort in the Mile High City.
He has been working with Broncos quarterback coach Davis Webb, who previously had been a backup for the Giants’ Daniel Jones.
CBS Sports football reporter A.J. Ross interviews Denver Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson after a preseason NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. AP
“For somebody that just got into coaching recently, I think he does a phenomenal job,” Wilson told The Athletic. “He does a great job of how he commands his meeting rooms and goes through every little thing. Of course the element of he’s played the position before I think goes a long way. I really enjoy that he’s played the position.”
The Broncos open the season on Sept. 8 against the Seattle Seahawks.
