Russell Wilson guides Seahawks' shifting dynamic in rout of Vikings
MINNEAPOLIS – For all Russell Wilson has accomplished in his young career, the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback never has looked like this.
He’s playing on script. He’s getting the ball out on time. He’s trusting his receivers and pulling the trigger without seeing them come open first.
Oh, Wilson still will quite literally run circles around defenders, as he did a few times in the Seahawks’ 38-7 destruction of the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
But this new dynamic – an offense that’s really an offense, rather than a series of scramble drills surrounding the pounding of Marshawn Lynch – is what has the Seahawks suddenly looking so primed to make a push for a third straight NFC title.
“He’s been just on it,” tight end Luke Willson told Paste BN Sports of Wilson, who was 21-of-27 passing for 274 yards with three touchdowns and ran for another score Sunday. “He’s in the zone, and it’s fun to be a part of, and it’s fun to watch. Unbelievable, really.”
Back in July, the Seahawks paid Wilson like the quarterback they’ll need him to be in the post-Lynch era with a four-year, $87.6 million contract extension.
Lynch has sat out the past three weeks with a groin injury that required surgery, and what do you know? The Seahawks are soaring and Wilson, 27, might be playing the best football of his career, redefining the type of QB he can be.
He’s not just pulling a spin-o-rama to convert a third-down scramble. He’s stepping through his creases. He’s hitting the top of his drop, going through his reads and threading a 20-yard touchdown to receiver Doug Baldwin between two defenders.
With the rout already on in the third quarter, Wilson had a 53-yard touchdown run wiped out by a holding penalty – then came back on the next snap, stood his ground as a hit came and dropped a 53-yard TD pass in the bucket to Baldwin that made it 35-0.
“I think obviously stepping up in the pocket’s key,” Wilson said. “I don’t want to take away the scramble part of it, obviously, because we make a lot of big, explosive plays out of that, too. So, I think there’s a happy medium – just playing the play as it comes to you.”
Whatever that medium is, Wilson has found it. He seems less concerned about avoiding turnovers, yet is playing remarkably error-free football anyway.
During the Seahawks’ three-game winning streak, which has moved them to the inside of the NFC wild-card picture at 7-5, Wilson is completing 76.7% of his passes for 879 yards and 11 touchdowns without an interception.
“Honestly, I think that Russell Wilson’s been playing like the best quarterback in the league the past 12 quarters,” Baldwin said. “He’s been unbelievable, phenomenal. When he’s doing what he’s doing, it’s very hard for any team to stop us, because of how good we can be.”
That the Vikings were down three top defenders because of injuries is no excuse, considering the Seahawks are without Lynch as well as tight end Jimmy Graham, whose season ended last week with a knee injury.
The identity of the Seahawks offense has been Lynch’s physical running style. But “Beast Mode” won’t last forever, and the burden was going to shift Wilson sooner or later.
It helps that the offensive line has settled down, undrafted rookie Thomas Rawls has excelled in Lynch’s absence and the touted Seattle defense had one of its best showings Sunday.
Right now, though, this is Wilson’s team, and it looks like a contender. Again.
Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.
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