JIM MOORE

Moore: Russell Wilson could break QB records on way to an MVP award

Oct 1, 2019, 9:38 AM | Updated: 11:09 am

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson...

Seahawks' Russell Wilson could challenge records owned by Tom Brady and Drew Brees. (Getty)

(Getty)

If Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson continues to play at his current pace for the rest of the season, he can beat out Patrick Mahomes and any other contenders for NFL Most Valuable Player.

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Better than that, he could set two NFL records for fewest interceptions and best completion percentage. Tom Brady holds the record for fewest interceptions, throwing only two in 2016. It seems unlikely that Wilson will go the whole season without throwing one when you consider that he’s never thrown fewer than seven in a single season.

But haven’t you gone from surprised to shocked when a defensive back picks him off? It’s startling when it happens, and I’m guessing that more often than not, those rare Wilson interceptions occur when a receiver runs the wrong route or a ball glances off his target’s hands or he’s hucking a Hail Mary at the end of the half.

He’s that accurate, and showing it more than ever this year, completing 72.9 percent of his passes, threatening Drew Brees’ single-season NFL record of 74.4 percent set last year. Wilson has had three games in which he had only six incomplete passes. In the other, a loss to New Orleans, he was 32 for 50, off-target more than usual with an assortment of low throws on a rainy day at CenturyLink Field. So I give him a pass on that one because of the conditions, and it’s not as if 32 of 50 is a bad day.

Two other things to consider:

• I know that Wilson is oftentimes throwing to his running backs, but it’s not like he’s dinking and dunking either. Wilson is averaging a career-best 8.6 yards per attempt thus far.

• Yes, he has an elite receiver in Tyler Lockett and a blossoming Pro Bowler at tight end in Will Dissly. But after that? D.K. Metcalf has gotten off to a terrific start, but if he’s typical of most rookie receivers, he won’t have a banner year once you add it all up at the end of the season. That’s certainly debatable though since Metcalf has 10 catches for 223 yards and a touchdown, but let’s see how it plays out from here. Then you go from Metcalf to Jaron Brown and David Moore, who both have been mostly disappointing since the second half of 2018. Yet Wilson has been sensational anyway.

We can probably agree that Chris Carson was the star in the 27-10 win over Arizona last Sunday, rushing for 104 yards, punishing would-be tacklers by running them over. But Wilson is a star in every game, the main reason why the Seahawks will be Super Bowl contenders the rest of his career, breaking records along the way.

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