Seahawks HC Pete Carroll says Russell Wilson ‘needed to do better’ vs. Broncos

The Seattle Seahawks did not have a great start to their season as they went down to the Denver Broncos, 27-24. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll pointed to the play of quarterback Russell Wilson as one of the big reasons for their disappointing performance.

“It always goes back to the QB, everyone is going to focus on that,” Pete Carroll told 710 ESPN Seattle on Monday morning, via USA Today. “Russ needed to do better than he did yesterday, but we needed to help him a lot.”

Wilson wasn’t quite at his best as he went just 19 of 33 for 298 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. He was also sacked six times, and Carroll acknowledged that they need to do a better job of protecting their quarterback. However, he still thought Wilson could have done some things to raise his level of play.

“I’m not trying to cover for him at all,” Carroll said. “He can play way better. He could have got us out of some issues early by getting rid of the football a couple times, but things got taken away and he got resourceful like he’s going to do.”

While there’s some truth to Carroll’s critique of Wilson’s play, it remains to be seen whether his comments had anything to do with the recent report of discontent within the Seahawks due to his preferential treatment of his star QB, which he has denied.

Regardless, Wilson will need to raise his game a bit more if the Seahawks are to get their first win of the season. But after getting harassed by Von Miller, he’s now set to go up against Khalil Mack and the Bears defense on Monday Night Football, which won’t be an easy task.