SEATTLE, WA – With the (9-5) Seattle Seahawks set to square off against the (10-4-1) San Francisco 49ers in a nationally televised divisional matchup on NBC Sunday Night Football, Seahawks rookie quarterback Russell Wilson has the perfect showcase to stake his claim to NFL Offensive Rookie Of The Year.
While more heralded and higher-profile rookie quarterbacks such as Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts, Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins, Ryan Tannehill of the Miami Dolphins and Brandon Weeden of the Cleveland Browns may have better numbers, Wilson has some numbers of his own that may help his case.
Thru 14 games, the 5’11 quarterback out of Wisconsin(via North Carolina State)has completed 222 passes out of 353 attempts for 2,697 yards, 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions for a 95.5 QB rating.
Luck and Weeden lead all rookies in passing yards at 3,978 and 3,281 respectively, they also lead NFL rookies in interceptions with 18 and 17. They also rank second and third amongst all QB’s in interceptions in 2012-13.
Wilson is second behind Griffin III—who has four—in interceptions with nine. Wilson is also second behind Griffin III in QB rating (104.2) and completion percentage (66.4)
Wilson also trails Griffin III in rushing yards amongst rookie quarterbacks 748 to 402 and rushing touchdowns six to three.
So with Wilson being second in a lot of statistical categories, why should he be considered for NFL Offensive Rookie Of The Year?
Wilson leads—and is tied—in the most important two, wins (9) and touchdowns (21)
Wilson is tied with Luck for most wins amongst rookies with nine and leads all rookies with 21 touchdown passes. Wilson is also tied with Griffin III in total touchdowns(rushing and passing)at 24.
What makes Wilson’s case even more remarkable is the fact that because of his height, his draft stock would see him slip down into the third round where the Seahawks would grab him with the 75th pick overall.
Compared to Drew Brees—who is barely 6’0, Wilson has shown a lot of intangibles such as leadership, composure and a knack for making big plays in helping lead the Seahawks to an improbable playoff run in his rookie year.
Not bad for a guy who was brought in to be a likely backup behind free-agent signee Matt Flynn.
If Wilson can replicate his four-touchdown performance—with three on the ground— in a 50-17 win over the Buffalo Bills against the stingy 49ers defense, then look for the talk of Wilson winning the NFL Offensive Rookie Of The year award to grow as loud as the “12th Man” at CenturyLink Field.
Robert D. Cobb is the Founder/CEO/Senior Editor-In-Chief Of The Inscriber : Digital Magazine, for questions, comments and concerns email me at [email protected] and follow the Inscriber : Digital Magazine on Twitter at @TheInscriber
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