Salk: Russell Wilson didn’t throw great against 49ers, but he showed why he’s valuable to Seahawks

Russell Wilson was obviously not at his best in Sunday’s 12-9 Seahawks win over the 49ers, but he still managed to show why he’s a franchise quarterback. He missed a few throws high and got away with one or two. But it feels like we have gone back to the days when everyone was judging him against perfection instead of against the rest of the league – otherwise known as reality.

His team had at least six drops, three of which were horrendous. Of the awful ones, one cost them a touchdown and the other cost them a third down conversion on the positive side of the 50 yard line. And of the other quarterbacks that can throw at Russ’s level, very few, if any, can run like him. And you simply can’t talk about him without talking about his legs. They were incredibly responsible for the scoring drive, accounting for 27 yards on that series alone.

710 ESPN Seattle’s reaction to Seahawks’ win over 49ers

Maybe he is a low Tier 1 (or maybe even Tier 2) passer. I think he’d be a lot better with a legit offensive line and a team structured around him throwing. But to ignore what he does with his legs is to discount one of the top things that makes him great.

There is one other thing: his ability to stay calm and rise to the moment. NFL quarterbacks are judged on what they do in the biggest spots of the game. How do they handle the ends of halves, the fourth quarter and final drives? Russ was (and is) great in those spots. And that is why I’ll take him ahead of the statuesque passers who often get placed in front of him.

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