Hobbled Russell Wilson still makes critics eat their words after Seahawks’ 27-17 win over Jets
Oct 2, 2016, 3:45 PM | Updated: 6:19 pm
(AP)
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Ever seen a one-legged man win a butt-kicking contest?
One New York journalist watched exactly that as Russell Wilson took an Exacto knife to the New York Jets defense during the Seahawks’ 27-17 victory on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
Wilson had a perfect passer rating at halftime. He completed 11 straight passes during one stretch. He threw for more than 300 yards in a regular-season game for the sixth time in five NFL seasons.
Instant reaction to Seahawks’ win | Sherman makes Jets pay | Photos | Stats
All this from a guy playing through a pair of leg injuries that prompted Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News to write off the Seahawks before the game even began:
“A one-legged Russell Wilson is as useful as a right-handed Jim Zorn, which basically means Pete Carroll’s offense is screwed if the Seahawks quarterback doesn’t magically heal in the next few days.”
Kudos for knowing that Zorn was left-handed. As for the rest of the critique, well, it was a bunch of recycled half-thoughts lifted from the 2013 edition of How to Troll the Seahawks Quarterback.
“He’s very good, not great,” wrote Mehta.
To be fair to this guy, there were plenty of people who thought exactly that. Two and a half years ago. Most of them have since wised up, but still there was a point when this actually passed for football analysis.
“Wilson is a nice second-tier quarterback with occasional improvisational superpowers,” Mehta continued.
Uh-oh. Looks like somebody must have skimped on his Sunday Ticket. Not sure how else you explain missing the 24 touchdown passes Wilson threw over the final seven regular-season games last season while being intercepted just once.
“He’s much closer to Batman than Superman,” Mehta concluded.
OK. Now the problem is clear. This is a guy who uses a point-by-point comparison between two comic-book superheroes who don’t actually, you know, EXIST to explain the limitations of Seattle’s quarterback.
“It’s ludicrous to think that he’ll be able to hobble into MetLife Stadium on a gimpy left knee and right ankle on Sunday and have his way with the Jets,” Mehta concluded.
Except that’s exactly what happened on Sunday.
As good as Seattle’s defense was against the Jets – and it was formidable – the Seahawks’ offense dictated the tempo and the trajectory of this game starting in the second quarter. Trailing 3-0, the Seahawks had their two longest drives of the season, moving the ball 92 yards for the first touchdown and followed that up with an 85-yard encore later in the same period.
Wilson was perfect on those drives. That’s not a metaphor, either. He completed all eight passes he attempted. That included an 8-yard pass to C.J. Spiller, who had been a Seahawks running back for all of about 5 minutes, as well as a completely uncovered Tanner McEvoy for a 42-yard touchdown.
Wilson completed the first three passes he attempted in the third quarter, running his string of consecutive completions to 11.
He finished the game with six completions of 20 yards or more. He threw three touchdown passes. He never came close to turning the ball over, and his worst play was a fourth-quarter sack he took on third down, forcing Steven Hauschka to make a field goal from 53 yards out instead of kicking it from 40.
When it was over, after Wilson had showered and dressed and was walking out of Seattle’s locker room, he saw his coach, Pete Carroll.
“Hey boss,” Wilson said, accepting a hug before continuing toward his post-game press conference.
“How about that guy, huh?” Carroll asked, motioning with his head toward Wilson.
It’s worth noting that Seattle’s coach was talking to a New York journalist at the time, but this was Bob Glauber of Newsday, not the guy who wrote Wilson off as being one-legged.
And if Wilson was able to do that one week after suffering a sprained left knee, imagine what he’ll be able to do after Seattle gets its bye in Week 5.
“I get two weeks?” Wilson asked with a smile. “That’s too much time.”
Given what a supposedly one-legged Wilson did to the Jets on Sunday, he might really be something when he gets healthy.