The Denver Broncos have faced a ton of criticism for the terrible play from their offense this year. Much of that criticism has fallen at the feet of their quarterback, Russell Wilson. Well, they might not have that excuse this week against the New York Jets.

Wilson was limited at practice Thursday with a hamstring injury. He has also reportedly been dealing with a strained lat in his shoulder for a few weeks. According to Mike Klis, backup QB Brett Rypien took most of the walkthrough reps on Wednesday.

“Per sources, Brett Rypien took most of walkthrough reps yesterday. Doesn’t mean Russell Wilson (hamstring) won’t start Sunday vs Jets. Would mean they’re getting Rypien ready in case Wilson can’t go. Rypien has one NFL start — vs. Jets, a win, in 2020.”

Rypien has only made one NFL start in his career. Incidentally, it was for this week's opponent, the Jets, back in 2020. He is the nephew of Washington Redskins Super Bowl winning QB Mark Rypien.

Russell Wilson was seen throwing on the side at practice Thursday. He very well still might get the start and the coaches are simply getting Rypien reps just in case. Either way, it's going to be hard for the Broncos offense to get on track this week.

The Jets front seven is among the best in the league. They consistently win the battle at the line of scrimmage. Last week, the Jets sacked Packers QB Aaron Rodgers four times and pressured him countless others.

Wilson appeared to finally be getting on track Monday night. He started 10-for-10 against the Los Angeles Chargers for over 100 yards and a touchdown. The rest of the game, he was 5-for-18 for 16 yards. That includes two overtime possessions. There are a number of issues facing this Broncos team and the defense is not one of them. They have done their job, limiting opponents to 16.5 points per game. That's 4th in the NFL.

If Wilson and his quarter-billion dollar contract can't fix the offense soon, it could get ugly in Denver.