Russell Wilson closing in on rookie TD record

By Brady Henderson

Russell Wilson’s lone touchdown pass during Sunday’s 50-17 rout of the Bills put the Seahawks quarterback one step closer to a rookie record.

Wilson now has 21 touchdown passes, five shy of the record Peyton Manning set during his rookie season in 1998. Wilson is tied for third along with Carolina’s Cam Newton, who had 21 last season. Charlie Conerly of the Giants is second with 22 in 1948, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Andrew Luck, the Colts’ rookie quarterback, has 20.

Breaking Manning’s record won’t be easy. The Seahawks play their final two games at home against teams with strong defenses. San Francisco and St. Louis have each allowed 14 touchdown passes this season, tied for second-fewest in the NFL. Seattle lost its previous matchups with those teams, and Wilson didn’t throw a touchdown pass in either game.

Two more notes courtesy of ESPN Stats and Information:

• Wilson became just the seventh quarterback in the Super Bowl era with a passing touchdown and three rushing scores in the same game. He scored on runs of 14, 25, and 13 yards and finished with a career-high 92 yards on nine carries.

• In terms of Total QBR – ESPN’s metric for quarterback value – Wilson had the best game of any quarterback this season. His 99.3 score edged the 99.2 that San Francisco’s Alex Smith posted against Buffalo in Week 5. QBR rates quarterbacks’ performances on a scale of 0-100, with 50 considered average.