Russell Wilson’s best game? “Yeah, I think so,” says Pete Carroll

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll normally isn’t one for superlatives, at least when it comes to questions about whether a given performance was the best of a player’s career.

Perhaps, then, it was especially telling how Carroll responded when asked on 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Brock and Salk” whether quarterback Russell Wilson played as well as he ever has Sunday against Arizona.

“Yeah, I think so,” Carroll said.

A case could be made purely on the numbers alone. Wilson’s 339 passing yards were his most in any regular-season game, second only to his 385 in Seattle’s playoff loss to Atlanta in 2012. He rushed for 88 yards on 10 carries for a total of 427 combined yards against Arizona, also his most in any regular-season game.

But what those numbers don’t reveal are some of the brilliant plays Wilson made with his legs when he broke the pocket. He had two of the most impressive runs of his career Sunday night, and he’s already set the standard pretty high in that department.

First it was a 55-yard scramble – the longest of his career – to turn field position for the Seahawks on a drive that began at their own 5. Then there was a 5-yard touchdown run in which he rolled out to his left and appeared dead to rights at the 15 only to hesitate then stiff-arm one defender before juking another on his way to the end zone.

Wilson did it all Sunday night.

“Gosh, he made some great plays and great throws and the timely runs,” Carroll said.

Wilson threw for two touchdowns in addition that rushing score, but it was also what he didn’t do in the face of constant pressure from Arizona’s defense that stood out to his head coach.

“No turnovers,” Carroll noted proudly.

The Cardinals are among the league leaders in takeaways, a byproduct of the bind they put quarterbacks in because of the frequency with with they blitz. Sometimes it leads to disaster for the opposing offense. Sometimes it leads to big plays, which was the case in this game as Wilson and the Seahawks burned Arizona repeatedly when the Cardinals brought extra pressure.

Carroll said Wilson’s readiness for everything Arizona threw his way was a reflection of his strong week of practice.

“(Offensive-line coach) Tom Cable mentioned it on Wednesday, after Wednesday’s work, that he couldn’t remember Russell being so on it,” Carroll said. “… He had a great Wednesday and then he just put it one day after another. He was really on it and it showed.”