Denver Broncos

The 33-year-old moved to Denver from the Seattle Seahawks ahead of the 2022 season, with the Broncos parting with three players – two first-round picks and two second-round picks – to land the Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

Wilson penned a two-year deal with the Broncos upon his arrival but could now stay with the team into his 40s, with an extension tying him down for a total of seven seasons.

Widespread reports have confirmed the news, with the deal worth $245million and $165m guaranteed.

The move also serves as further evidence of the quarterback market skyrocketing, with Aaron Rodgers' recent extension with the Packers at $50m setting the bar.

Wilson will begin his career with the Broncos in familiar circumstances as Denver travel to face Seattle on the west coast on September 13.

During his time with Seattle, Wilson led the Seahawks to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, winning Super Bowl XLVIII against the Broncos at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

He has also been a Pro Bowler in all but one of his 10 seasons in the NFL and should hit 300 career touchdowns with the Broncos, holding 292 ahead of the 2022 season.

The quarterback threw three interceptions as the Los Angeles Rams ran out 51-14 victors on Christmas Day, leaving the Broncos 4-11 this year – the joint-third worst record across the NFL.

Wilson has struggled to perform following his mega trade from the Seattle Seahawks, with a pass completion of 60.1 per cent standing as the lowest-ever mark of his career.

Meanwhile, he has thrown a touchdown in just 2.9 per cent of his throws – again the worst record of his career.

Though the 34-year-old is not the only player to have disappointed this season, Wilson has vowed to "keep fighting" and remains confident of better displays in future campaigns.

"A lot needs to happen. I have to play to the standards that I know how to play to," he said, via Mike Klis of KUSA. "And I've been playing to my whole career. I'll never let a moment like tonight define me.

"We're at a low moment right now. I don't fear low moments because I know every time, I've always come out the other side. All I know how to do is keep fighting, keep battling.

"The reality is, it's been a storm. It's been a storm all year. It's not what we hoped for, not what we dreamed for. But it doesn't mean it's going to end that way for years to come. We got to change it, and it starts with me."

The Broncos travel to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, before concluding their season at home to the Los Angeles Chargers.

This was already one of the deepest divisions in football, headlined by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs but also featuring the 2021 fifth seed Las Vegas Raiders and gunslinging Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in its supporting cast.

But the lineup for next season promises to be even more enticing.

The Raiders have worked to make sure they have not been left behind by the big-spending Chargers, while the Denver Broncos have also made a significant move to climb into contention.

In fact, over the past two weeks, the Chiefs have perhaps been among the big losers – watching on while the rest of their division have been getting busy...

March 8: Russell Wilson (Seahawks to Broncos)

The NFC West was previously the standard-bearer for hugely competitive divisions, but the power shifted as its fourth-placed Seattle Seahawks traded superstar quarterback Wilson to the AFC West's fourth-placed Broncos. With Aaron Rodgers staying with the Green Bay Packers, when a move to Denver had been mooted, a big play for Wilson was vital if the Broncos were to make up a significant gap. The Super Bowl XLVIII champion has ranked fourth for both pass yards per attempt (7.83) and touchdown percentage (6.2) across his NFL career – a significant upgrade on the Broncos' 2021 QBs Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock.

March 10: Khalil Mack (Bears to Chargers)

With Herbert running the offense, the Chargers have moved to improve the other side of the ball – first by trading for edge rusher Mack. A second-round pick in this year's draft was the primary compensation for a six-time Pro Bowler, immediately boosting a unit that ranked 23rd in total defense (360.1 yards per game) and 30th in run defense (138.9) last year. Mack struggled with injuries in his final year with the Chicago Bears but comes in opposite Joey Bosa, who ranks third in the NFL for QB pressures (389) and sixth for sacks (58) since his 2016 debut; Mack is fourth (388) and seventh (57.5) over that same period.

March 14: J.C. Jackson (free agent to Chargers)

As well as draft collateral, the Chargers had salary cap to work with and sent a large chunk of it to cornerback Jackson, allowed to leave by the New England Patriots. Jackson had certainly earned his pay day, leading the NFL in interceptions (25) since debuting in New England in 2018. This playmaking ability was also illustrated by the 26-year-old giving up big plays on only 18.9 per cent of his targets last season, the eighth-best rate among corners with at least 50 targets.

March 15: Randy Gregory (free agent to Broncos)

The Chargers' edge-rushing duo will take some beating, but the Broncos upgraded in that position, too, by giving up to $70million to Gregory, who had been set to re-sign with the Dallas Cowboys. Gregory, who missed almost three full seasons due to violations of the NFL's substance abuse policy, had finally established himself as a starter in 2021 with career highs in sacks (six) and QB hits (17) playing opposite DeMarcus Lawrence. The 29-year-old linebacker will now be paired with Bradley Chubb, despite a return to Denver for Von Miller being floated earlier in the month.

March 16: Chandler Jones (free agent to Raiders)

Having seen their division rivals make big moves, the Raiders responded with a $51m offer to Jones, while trading Yannick Ngakoue to the Indianapolis Colts for corner Rock Ya-Sin. Ngakoue had 10 sacks and forced two fumbles in his sole season in Las Vegas, but Jones (10.5 and six) topped both figures for the Arizona Cardinals in 2021. In fact, since Jones came into the league with the Patriots in 2012, he leads both categories, with 107.5 sacks and 33 fumbles forced. Although now 32, he shows few signs of slowing.

March 17: Davante Adams (Packers to Raiders)

The most stunning move of the lot followed on Thursday, when Adams' refusal to play for the Packers on the franchise tag led to his trade to the Raiders for a first and a second-round pick in 2022 (22 and 53 overall). The deal suddenly gives Raiders QB Derek Carr arguably the best offensive weapon in the NFL – and one he can go to time and time again, given Adams was targeted on a league-leading 35.4 per cent of his routes in 2021, which yielded career highs in catches (123) and receiving yards (1,553). Fellow wideout Hunter Renfrow may now see less of the ball than in his first 1,000-yard season (1,038), but he should also benefit from the attention Adams inevitably draws. The Raiders already ranked sixth in passing offense (268.6 yards per game).

Russell Wilson and the Seahawks topped last season's Super Bowl finalists the San Francisco 49ers 37-27.

The Broncos somehow rallied past the Los Angeles Chargers, the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints were involved in a brawl, while the Philadelphia Eagles saw off rivals the Dallas Cowboys.

SEAHAWKS BOUNCE BACK

The Seahawks went down to the Arizona Cardinals in overtime in Week 7, ending their unbeaten start to the season.

But Wilson threw four touchdowns and star wide receiver DK Metcalf dominated as NFC West leaders the Seahawks (6-1) powered past the 49ers in Seattle.

MVP candidate Wilson completed 27 of 37 passes for 261 yards and no interceptions, teaming up with Metcalf in devastating fashion.

Metcalf caught Wilson's first two TD passes, finishing with 12 catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns. It gave the WR new career bests in both receptions and yards.

After Seattle's Tyler Lockett had 15 catches, 200 receiving yards and three touchdowns last week, the Seahawks became the first team ever to have different players with 12/150/2 or better in back-to-back games, per Stats Perform.

The 49ers dropped to 4-4 and 1-2 in the NFC West at CenturyLink Field, where stars Jimmy Garoppolo and George Kittle exited with injuries in the fourth quarter.

After Tevin Coleman (knee) left in the first quarter, quarterback Garoppolo – who missed two games recently – appeared to tweak his ankle, while tight end Kittle hurt his foot.

"I knew it was hurt once we all saw it and he didn't go back in on that one play," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "He had a good week of practice throwing, but high ankle sprains linger, so you never know when it's going to affect you. I know he hurt it later in the game, or re-hurt it, and we'll wait until tomorrow to see how bad it is."

Garoppolo was 11-of-16 for 84 yards and an interception prior to exiting the game.

BRONCOS BLITZ CHARGERS

The Broncos (3-4) emerged from the jaws of defeat to snatch a 31-30 win over the Chargers (2-5).

Denver – led by Drew Lock – scored 21 points in the final quarter and 28 in the second half to stun the visiting Chargers.

Lock went 14-of-18 passing for 155 yards with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone, the Broncos QB finishing 26 of 41 for 248 yards, three TDs and an interception.

KJ Hamler completed the comeback at the death, connecting with Lock on a one-yard pass as time expired.

Hamler became the first player to score a game-winning touchdown with no time left for his first career TD since Ernest Wilford in 2004, according to Stats Perform.

WIMS EJECTED FOR PUNCHING GARDNER-JOHNSON

The Bears went down 26-23 to the Saints in overtime, a loss headlined by wide receiver Javon Wims' ejection.

Wims sucker-punched Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson in the third quarter – approaching the latter from behind and unleashing a flurry of hits to the helmet.

Saints cornerback Janoris Jenkins jumped in and attacked Wims before both teams got involved and broke up the brawl.

"We talked to him and told him that's not how things go here," Bears coach Matt Nagy said. "One of Javon's strengths is character and who he is as a person and he has since apologised but there is no part of that in this game. Again, I still haven't seen it, but from what I heard it is not good. That's now how we roll here and we'll be talking to him."

In Sunday's late game, the Eagles defeated the slumping Cowboys 23-9 to extend their lead in the NFC East.

Carson Wentz was 15 of 27 for 123 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions as the Eagles improved to 3-4-1, while the Cowboys fell to 2-6.

The Eagles became the first NFL team to have under 250 total yards, turn the ball over four-plus times, get sacked four or more times and yet still win the game by 14-plus points since the Miami Dolphins beat the New York Jets 14-0 in the 1982 AFC Championship Game, per Stats Perform.

Week 8 scores:

Atlanta Falcons 25-17 Carolina Panthers
Buffalo Bills 24-21 New England Patriots
Cincinnati Bengals 31-20 Tennessee Titans
Las Vegas Raiders 16-6 Cleveland Browns
Indianapolis Colts 41-21 Detroit Lions
Minnesota Vikings 28-22 Green Bay Packers
Kansas City Chiefs 35-9 New York Jets
Miami Dolphins 28-17 Los Angeles Rams
Pittsburgh Steelers 28-24 Baltimore Ravens
Denver Broncos 31-30 Los Angeles Chargers
New Orleans Saints 26-23 Chicago Bears (OT)
Seattle Seahawks 37-27 San Francisco 49ers
Philadelphia Eagles 23-9 Dallas Cowboys

All eyes were on Saints quarterback Jameis Winston in his reunion with the Buccaneers, having moved to New Orleans in April last year following five mixed seasons with Tampa Bay.

But Winston was carted off the field in the second quarter against his former team, suffering a knee injury during a horse-collar tackle by Buccaneers linebacker Devin White.

Winston had completed six of 10 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown while scrambling for 40 yards before exiting the game with the score tied 7-7.

Led by veteran backup Trevor Siemian, the Saints (5-2) still held on to sink Brady's Buccaneers (6-2) on home turf, despite the latter becoming the all-time leader for most three-plus passing TD games in NFL history (98).

Four touchdown passes from seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady helped the Buccaneers overturn a 23-7 deficit – Tampa Bay moving ahead 27-26 following a 50-yard throw to Cyril Grayson just over five minutes from the end.

But Brian Johnson's field goal with less than two minutes remaining restored New Orleans' lead, albeit by two points, before P.J. Williams picked off Brady – his second interception of the contest – for a 40-yard interception return to seal the win.

Broncos block two field goals

The Denver Broncos and their defence held firm to see off the lowly Washington Football Team 17-10.

Denver blocked two field goals en route to their fourth win of the season, snapping a four-game skid.

Dre'Mont Jones (in the fourth quarter) and Shelby Harris (in the second period) each blocked field-goal attempts from Chris Blewitt as the Broncos avoided going winless in October for the first time since 1967.