RENTON — Thursday afternoon at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, Russell Wilson did the press conference equivalent of one of his patented quarterback scrambles.
Wilson was peppered with questions about the quality of his recent play, but the Seattle Seahawks quarterback evaded those questions the way he spins away from onrushing defensive ends.
But no matter how much Wilson tries to deflect the praise, the numbers are impossible to ignore. He’s is in the midst of one of the best stretches an NFL quarterback has ever produced.
Over the past four games Wilson’s numbers reached heights that would make Boeing jealous. In those four games Wilson completed an astounding 75.4 percent of his passes (89-for-118) for 1,171 yards. He threw 16 touchdown passes without throwing an interception. They look like numbers compiled on an Xbox.
“I look at the tape and Russell’s doing everything right,” said Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin, who’s been the primary beneficiary of Wilson’s hot streak. “It’s fun to watch, it’s like a video game.”
Just how rare has Wilson’s past four games been? According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Wilson is the first quarterback to have four consecutive games in which he completed 70 percent of his passes, threw at least three touchdowns and had no interceptions. He’s also just the third quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw 16 touchdowns with no interceptions over a four-game span. The other two? Tom Brady (2007 with New England) and Peyton Manning (2013 with Denver), two guys already enshrined in the pantheon of the NFL’s greatest ever quarterbacks.
Wilson’s passer rating over those four games of 145.9 is, according to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, the highest four-game passer rating in NFL history. The next best is the 144.2 put together by Philadelphia’s Nick Foles in 2013.
But Wilson’s reaction to his historic numbers?
“It’s not just me, it’s everybody,” a sidestepping Wilson said. “Like I said, it’s the offensive line, they’re doing a tremendous job. It’s the receivers, they’re making crazy plays all over the field. And then the tight ends, too, and the running backs. Those guys make it easier on me, and it’s just a lot of fun to play with them. We’re doing a really good job, we’re in sync right now.”
Indeed, Seattle’s offense has made leaps and bounds from where it was earlier in the season, and that shows up in the difference between Wilson’s numbers in Seattle’s first nine games compared to the past four. In his first nine outings Wilson was 175-for-266 for 2,118 yards. His completion percentage was good (65.8 percent), but still nearly 10 percent lower than the past four games. His yards per attempt were a solid 8.0, but almost two full yards less than the 9.9 from the past four. His touchdown-to-interception ratio was a pedestrian 10-7.
Add it up and Wilson’s passer rating through nine games was 91.7, which would currently rank 18th in the league among qualifiers, trailing a who’s who of mediocre quarterbacks that includes the likes of Cleveland’s Josh McCown, Washington’s Kirk Cousins and Houston’s Brian Hoyer. But the recent stretch has improved Wilson’s season QB rating to a league-leading 110.0, which would be the 14th-best mark in league history.
What does Wilson think of the historic nature of his numbers?
“The exciting part is simply that we’re winning the games,” a ducking-and-weaving Wilson said. “All the stats and all that, that’s fun and exciting, obviously everybody wants to play at a high level. But we come here to win. We come here to work to win football games. We enjoy winning.”
Wilson isn’t the only one spreading the credit for his gaudy numbers.
“This is what we hoped for and expected early in the year, where we thought we could be as an offense,” Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. “I just think that we’re really executing at a high level right now. It starts up front, but it’s probably just really cliche to say, but they are really functioning as one group. Those 11 guys are working really well. There’s no one guy that’s doing more than the other. They’re all playing at a really high level, they’re all doing their job, doing their job very well. You can see the effect that is having right now.”
Wilson and Bevell have a point. Wilson wouldn’t be here if not for the improvement in pass protection. He was sacked a league-high 31 times through Seattle’s first seven games, but was sacked just eight times the past six games as the offensive line picked up its game. A tweak in the offensive scheme, with Seattle running more plays designed for Wilson to get rid of the ball quickly, has also helped cut the sack totals down.
Seattle’s receivers have also played their part, and Baldwin in particular. Baldwin has been the league’s most dangerous receiver the past three weeks, catching eight touchdowns. Wilson is 23-for-28 for 381 yards and eight TDs when targeting Baldwin the past four weeks, which is a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
But it all starts with the quarterback, and Wilson has elevated his game to historic levels.
“I don’t want to minimize him, he’s throwing the ball really well,” Bevell said. “He’s seeing things really well, he’s pulling the trigger really well. He’s getting the ball out very quickly.
“Russell’s a prideful guy as well,” Bevell continued. “He’s a very competitive player and it’s important to him. He works on his craft each and every day, just like all those guys. He can improve, and he has.”
That improvement hasn’t just led to historic numbers. It’s helped turn Seattle’s season around, and Wilson is a big reason why the Seahawks are now the team no one wants to face in the playoffs.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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