Super Bowl XLIX: Russell Wilson now an elite quarterback
By Zac Wassink
Face it: Russell Wilson is one of the best quarterbacks in all of the NFL
Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts is widely regarded as the best young quarterback in all of the National Football League, the next great QB who will soon possess the levels of respect held for the likes of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. Luck has all of the physical tools to be a special player who goes down as one of the all-time greats when all is said and done. Luck is already one of the top cerebral quarterbacks in the NFL. He has the arm strength and accuracy required to be a top QB, and he can also makes plays with his legs. Luck, in short, does it all, and he does it all well.
That said, one would be silly to start Andrew Luck over Russell Wilson two Sundays from now when the Seattle Seahawks take on the New England Patriots at Super Bowl XLIX.
Wilson, who is on the verge of receiving superstar money from the Seahawks, has been a fascinating player to study over his three years in the NFL. The third-round pick from the 2012 NFL Draft was, unlike Luck, never supposed to start right out of the gates, but Wilson ultimately won the Seattle gig from Matt Flynn during his first ever professional training camp. Wilson threw 26 touchdowns and only ten interceptions in his debut season, and he helped guide the Seahawks to the postseason in his first opportunity to do so.
What Wilson has accomplished since has been well-documented. Terry Blount of ESPN recently compared the numbers posted by Wilson and by New England quarterback Tom Brady over the first three seasons of their NFL careers. The stats may surprise you. Brady had a record of 40-12, he matched 75 touchdowns with 41 interceptions, and he had a total of 11,523 passing yards. Wilson, meanwhile, has a mark of 42-13, 82 passing touchdowns, 31 interceptions and 11,591 passing yards.
Both Brady and Wilson made two Super Bowl appearances in their first three seasons. Brady and the Patriots were victorious in those contests, while Wilson is about to become the youngest quarterback to start two Super Bowl games. Wilson also has 1,877 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns in regular season play since his rookie campaign. Brady has 823 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground over his entire career. The all-time great who is guaranteed a spot in the Hall of Fame also has two Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards to his name.
Wilson and Luck both had, for the most part, outings to forget on Conference Championship Sunday. The reigning Super Bowl champion quarterback was downright awful against the Green Bay Packers. Wilson tossed four interceptions, the final pick coming with roughly five minutes left on the clock when the Seahawks were down by 12 points. Seattle’s defense gave Wilson and his offense the ball back after three plays, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. Running back Marshawn Lynch entered “Beast Mode,” Brandon Bostick made what is now a famous drop on an onside kick, the Seahawks fought back to ultimately earn a chance to play in an overtime period, and Wilson hit Jermaine Kearse for a 35-yard touchdown pass in OT to clinch a return to the Super Bowl.
In a football world where we far too often get swept up in fantasy football figures, we forget that the top trait of an “elite” quarterback: The ability to lead and sometimes even will his team to victories. Nobody can say, with any certainty, that Luck would have been able to lead the Seahawks past the Packers in a similar scenario, only because we have never witnessed the Indianapolis quarterback get the job done on such a big stage. He likely has multiple massive victories in his future, but they remain in Luck’s future. Wilson has already notched those types of wins.
Russell Wilson. Eli Manning. Joe Flacco. Andrew Luck. One of those quarterbacks sticks out like a sore thumb, and it is not because he is the best overall player of the four as it pertains to talent. Luck is the only one who does not possess a Super Bowl ring. Explaining that Luck has never played for the best team in the NFL as being the main reason why he has never been to the mountaintop is fair; until you remember that neither Manning nor Flacco featured for the best sides in the league when they were part of championship runs.
None of this is to downplay what Luck is now, nor is it any kind of indictment on what Luck could and should become in the near future. Over 20 general managers in the NFL would select Luck to be the quarterback of the now and of the long-term for their clubs, and they would be wise to do so. It is, however, disrespectful to not put Wilson and Luck in the same QB category this January. If anything, Wilson has earned the right to be slightly ahead of Luck heading into the upcoming offseason so long as both are fully healthy.
It is entirely possible that this won’t even be a discussion a few years down the road. Perhaps Wilson will be a one-0ff for a quarterback his size, while Luck will be an annual All-Pro and the best player at the position. Wilson won’t produce the fantasy football stats Luck will on a weekly basis. Wilson likely won’t ever come close to passing Brett Favre or Peyton Manning in career passing categories. The third-year pro and world champion is a leader, he is mature, he has unique physical gifts for a quarterback, and Wilson is a young man who did not fall apart when under the spotlights that come with playing in a Super Bowl.
With a title on the line on January 21, 2015, I’m happily taking Wilson over Luck.