Russ Get His Respects, Leading 'Hawks to 27-26 win over Minnesota Vikings

         Seattle, WA- In the first four games of the 2020 NFL season, the race for the NFL league MVP award has been a tight 2-man horse race between Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. And while both teams have maintained perfection through the first quarter of the season, Rodgers’ squad has played in a dominant fashion; always securing an early lead and never letting it go. Wilson, on the other hand, has often had to play against his own defense, who keeps giving up big leads in big moments. Yet, he’s found a way to orchestrate great late-game heroics week after week. And in the end, isn’t that what an MVP is? Not just the best player of the best team, but a player that steps up to bat when the primetime lights are at their brightest, and succeeds, even when his own team is (inadvertently against him? Wilson is the true 2020 NFL league MVP, and he’s proved as much as his squad took down Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings 27-26 on Sunday Night. 

Put some respect on Russ’s name 

         Let’s call a spade for what it is, or in this case, an underrated quarterback for what he is. Since entering the league in 2012 as a fourth-round pick by Seattle, Wilson has been constantly overlooked as an elite quarterback. The 5’11 Wisconsin product has evolved from a game manager that had a dominant and reliable running game and legendary defense to the sole pillar his team is standing on. Wilson won a Super Bowl in just his second year as a pro, never had a record worse than 9-7 in his time leading the Seahawks, and is on pace this season to surpass Peyton Manning’s single-season touchdown record with 60 projected touchdowns (Manning had 55).  

         And yet, despite so much success by Wilson, he hasn’t received a single MVP vote in his career. But 2020 has proven to be Wilson’s time to shine, with his game against the Vikings serving as an epitome to how he’s performed this season so far. It was a slow start for Wilson in the first half, only racking up 40 total yards. Come the start of the second half, Wilson and the Hawks got cooking. On their second drive of the third quarter, Wilson led a four-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a 19-yard high touchdown pass to tight end Will Dissly (1-19-1) on. On the Vikings ensuing drive, Seattle’s D forced a Kirk Cousins fumble, which set up a 29-yard touchdown run by Chris Carson (8-52-1). On the next Vikings possession, it took just one play for Cousins to make another mistake, with his pass to Adam Thielen getting picked off by linebacker K.J. Wright with one hand. Wilson again led a scoring drive, finding D.K. Metcalf (6-93-2) on a slant route for a 13-yard touchdown. Seattle went up 21-13 in less than two minutes. 

         But Wilson’s MVP moment came with in the late in the fourth quarter. After forcing a turnover on downs at their own 5, Seattle found themselves down by five with 1:57 left on the clock. And, like a contestant on “Master Chef”, Wilson got cooking. Wilson led the Seahawks 95-yards down the field, hitting Metcalf on two deep passes (39-yard go route and a 15-yard slant) as well as his other deep threat, Tyler Lockett (4-44-0) on a 17-yard bootleg. It all culminated to a fourth and goal on Minnesota’s 6th-yard line. Wilson, out of a shotgun bunch formation, finds Metcalf on a drag route, threading the needle to Metcalf for the game-winning score. Wilson finished the night with 20/32 of his passes (63% completion) for 217 yards, three passing touchdowns, and a pick.  

         Whether you want to call him DangerRuss, Mr. Unlimited, or the Seahawks’ star chef that needs to be allowed to cook, Russell Wilson is demanding his respect. Not from his peers, coaches, or NFL executives, but by the Pro Football Writers of America. And he wants it in the form of an MVP Vote. 

You like that, Kirk?       

         After breaking their 0-3 losing streak by beating the Houston Texans 31-23 on the road, hope was up for the Vikings. Kirk Cousins was clicking with budding rookie wideout Justin Jefferson (3-23-0) and No. 1 passing weapon Adam Thielen (9-80-2). The ground-and-pound 1-2 punch of league-leading rusher Dalvin Cook (17-65-1) and complimentary power back Alexander Mattison (20-112-0) set the tone for Mike Zimmer’s squad. And at the start of the Seattle game, it seemed like that trend was not only continuing, but improving. The defense kept Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense to just 67 total offensive yards during the first half, scoring 13 unanswered points off play-action passes and effective power running from Cook and Mattison. 

         And then, the momentum changed. And it happened as soon as Cook left the game with an apparent groin injury. With Cook gone, all the focus went on Cousins, who fumbled the ball away to the Seahawks on the same drive Cook left on, then was picked off by K.J. Wright with one hand on their next possession, resulting in 21 unanswered points by the Seahawks. The offense was able to respond, with Mattison and Cousins leading the Vikings on a 15-play, 97-yard drive that resulted in a six-yard touchdown score by Thielen as he tip-toed backward into the endzone. Vikings back up by 5.  

On the ensuing Seahawks possession, linebacker Eric Wilson picked DangerRuss off on a wheel route meant for Chris Carson, giving Minnesota great field position at the 50. It was a full running drive, with Mattison and special teamer Mike Boone carving out chunk plays & killing the clock. But then, on a fourth and 1 situation at Seattle’s 6-yard line, instead of kicking a chip-shot field goal, Coach Zimmer elected to go for it with Mattison; an inside zone run up the middle out of the iso. Mattison was stuffed an inch away from the conversion line, with fullback C.J. Ham getting pushed back into him, forcing a turnover on downs. That led to Wilson’s game-winning touchdown drive, but there was still a shred hope for Minnesota. The Vikings got the ball back with 15 seconds left and 2-time outs. After an out route to tight end Kyle Rudolph to start the drive that ate up five seconds, Cousins gets sacked by defensive lineman Benson Mayowa, forcing Cousins’ second fumble of the night, which was recovered by Seattle’s defense. The clock winds down, the refs call the game done. The Vikings lose their fourth game on a Kirk Cousins whimper of a fumble. He outpaced Wilson, statistically; completing 27/39 (69% completion rate) of his passes for 249 yards, two touchdowns, and three total turnovers. But stats don’t equate to wins, which, coincidentally, perfectly describes Kirk Cousins’ entire career.  

What’s next? 

         The Seahawks get a much-needed bye week to regroup before they face division rival Arizona at the Pharm in week 7. As for Minnesota, it will be a battle of bad teams, as the Vikings host an 0-5 Falcons squad that just lost a close game to the Panthers at home. Atlanta also just fired both head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff.  

Writer

-By: Juan Guarin-Camargo