It was November of 2019. Wilson had already been to two Super Bowls and there were people out there still calling him a game manager. Disrespecting the fact that he continued to carry an anemic Seahawks offense and make them formidable.
Last year, however, things began to change after in consecutive weeks, Dangeruss orchestrated two overtime wins against the Tampa Bay Bucs (40-34) and the undefeated San Francisco 49ers (27-24) in thrilling fashion on Monday Night football.
Seahawks defeated the 49ers 27-24 in OT on MNF.
This is the Seahawks NFL-leading 3rd win after trailing by at least 10 points this season (also did it last week vs the Bucs).
Russell Wilson is now 6-0 in his career against teams that are at least 8 games above .500. pic.twitter.com/dgdcUhBuOL
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 12, 2019
That 4-year $140 million extension that he signed the previous Spring proved to be money well spent. No one can accuse Wilson of being one of these overpaid, stat-stuffing, win-nothing quarterbacks.
Talented pigskin slingers like Matt Ryan, Mathew Stafford, Kirk Cousins, and the like post numbers, but when the game is on the line, you never know with these guys.
2020 Season For The Record Books?
The 2020 season has started off in historic fashion for Wilson who on Sunday, in another comeback win — this time against a Super Bowl ready Dallas Cowboys team — became the first quarterback to throw for 14 TDs in the first three games of the season.
With the best array of weapons he’s ever had, Wilson is proving that the Seahawks can win on his arm alone, he’s the best in the game pound-for-pound and has been in that convo for some time.
Yesterday was Russell Wilson's 29th career game-winning drive, passing Joe Montana's career total https://t.co/TShjCXCHX8 pic.twitter.com/yA3baDh4jT
— Pro Football Reference (@pfref) September 28, 2020
Except for that ill-fated, ill-advised Red Zone pick in his second Super Bowl, Wilson has been perfect in the big moments. Even Mariano Rivera gave up a walk-off hit to Arizona in the World Series. Every GOAT contender also has that moment of crushing defeat. How that athlete rebounds from it reveals his or her true champion pedigree.
Sidenote:
That’s why my verdict on Mike Tyson’s career is still inconclusive. He destroyed those who he knew he could. But If you beat him, he never came back and beat you. He might bite your ear off though.
Russell Wilson continues to prove on the big stage, that he’s one of the greatest quarterbacks in history, but he’s undoubtedly the most important quarterback of this generation.
.@getnickwright gives a 60-second history lesson on Russell Wilson’s greatness starting with his rookie season: pic.twitter.com/4kePxv5gjr
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) November 12, 2019
Changing The Narrative On Race & Size
His success as a Black, undersized, dual-threat quarterback has shattered any myth about the viability of such quarterbacks and he’s done more to usher out the era of the drop back, pocket QB than anyone. Diminutive signal callers like Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield would never have gotten a sniff if Wilson didn’t breakthrough as a third-round draft choice in 2012. The Black quarterback explosion that saw a record 10 Black quarterbacks start for NFL teams in Week 1 can be attributed largely to the success of Wilson who was at one time the only superstar Black QB in the league, along with Cam Newton.
When Doug Williams broke the NFL quarterback barrier by winning the Super Bowl over a powerful Denver Broncos team led by John Elway in 1988, he automatically became a cultural symbol of excellence and further proof that the myth about the intellectual ineptitude of the Black quarterback was a load of racist bunk.
The world would have to wait 25 years to see another Black signal-caller raise the Lombardi Trophy in the air, as a young, underrated and underappreciated Wilson led Seattle to the promised land in 2013.
It has been seven years since Wilson’s second Super Bowl appearance, which should have made him a back-to-back champion if not for the gross ineptitude of OC Darryl Bevelle and HC Pete Carroll. Russ remains Carroll’s saving grace as a 68-year-old NFL coach.
Together, they have been to the top of the mountain and the bottom. Russ still plays with a chip on his shoulder that will never go away.
https://twitter.com/SportsNation/status/519648644979380224
Everybody Wants A Russell Wilson Style of QB
Back then, the Black quarterback was becoming pretty normal — Cam Newton was anointed, RG3 who was drafted two rounds before Wilson at the top of the 2012 Draft hit the scene like a comet and fizzled like a dud Roman candle. Colin Kaepernick’s dual-threat abilities took San Francisco to Super Bowl XLVII in 2015 and then he was blackballed and out of the league by 2017 after kneeling
It wasn’t all gravy because we still had archaic football minds like Bill Polian doing everything they could do to stop the evolution of the position and discredit NFL-ready studs like Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson.
When RG3’s career was derailed by injuries, that also stunted the dual-threat era a bit. Closet racists would point to RG3’s career as an example of why mobile (code word for Black QBs) couldn’t sustain success at this level. With Cam Newton’s deterioration in Carolina, before his comeback with the Pats, those whispers rand concerns about the durability of capable running QBs surfaced again.
Pat Mahomes‘ MVP season in 2018, the success of Lamar Jackson and a burgeoning crop of Black quarterbacks made 2019 a historic year in the NFL. In 2020 the evolution of the position continued and so has the development of Wilson’s passing prowess. The verdict is still out on some of the new soul brothers.
The only consistent element in the NFL’s roller coaster opinions about multi-threat signal-callers has been Russell Wilson.
Russell Wilson is unreal. The 49ers are no longer undefeated.#SEAvsSF pic.twitter.com/3tVsFTVHG1
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) November 12, 2019
Black quarterbacks have come and gone since he was overlooked in the 2012 Draft. The quarterbacks picked No. 1 and No. 2 that season are no longer relevant. RG3 is a cheerleader and Andrew Luck retired.
Wilson has gone on to have a Hall of Fame career. When it comes to consistency, durability and clutch leadership, he’s risen to the top of the NFL class. The numbers speak for themselves. Every quarterback from little Kyler Murray to backup Teddy Bridgewater can thank Wilson for their opportunities.
He’s the ultimate winner
Russ has the most wins by a quarterback in his first seven seasons in NFL history. Wilson is one of five quarterbacks with 75 or more wins in any seven-season span of a career. Tom Brady is the only other player who has done this.
Nobody’s as clutch in the fourth quarter.
Besides being one of two quarterbacks in NFL history with a career passer rating of 100 or more, Wilson throws TDs at an all-time rate.
#LETRUSSCOOK
The Seahawks are finally doing that and he is on pace to have the best statistical season by a QB in NFL history. He might not sustain the current pace but his blazing start is indicative of how far he has come. The 2020 MVP trophy is his to lose. It’s an honor that he’s surprisingly never had even though he became an instant starter as a rookie, has never had a losing season and has made every start for the Seahawks since 2012.
Every year, there was a new darling quarterback that overshadowed Wilson’s efficient, winning ways. This year, despite the heroics of Mahomes, Josh Allen and a host of others, Wilson stands at the top of the totem pole….finally. If not for the meteoric rise of the 5-foot-11 QB giant, NFL rosters would probably be looking much different.
