Happy 25th Birthday to Russell Wilson

Nov 10, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) scrambles away from pressure in the second half against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. The Seahawks won 33-10. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Friday is the the 25th birthday of Russell Wilson, the Seahawks quarterback who has played beyond his years and is off to one of the best career starts in the history of NFL quarterbacks.

When Wilson was drafted out of Wisconsin in the 2012 NFL Draft, few scouts believed he would amount to much, as most Seahawks fans know.

But who could have predicted that Wilson would be this valuable to the Seahawks? It’s hard to imagine how Seattle would be 10-1, the best record in the NFL, without Wilson.

It’s hard to imagine the Seahawks would win a franchise-record 13-straight games at CenturyLink Field without Wilson.

It’s hard to imagine that a team with numerous injuries and distractions off the field could stay as focused as they have without Wilson.

And, in all honesty,  the idea of a Super Bowl wouldn’t seem as possible as it does now, had Wilson never played for Seattle.

Russell Wilson has the best winning percentage by a starting quarterback in the league right now. At 21-6, Wilson has a .778 winning percentage that is better than Tom Brady (.774, 144-42), Peyton Manning (.694, 163-72) and Drew Brees (.600, 108-72), according to Clare Farnsworth at Seahawks.com.

I wrote an article a week and a half ago that discussed the record Wilson could tie with a win on Monday night. He could tie Ben Roethlisberger with 22 career wins, the most by a quarterback in his first two seasons:

"According to ESPN Stats & Information, Wilson is one of just five quarterbacks since 1966 to win at least 20 games in his first two seasons in the NFL. He joins some impressive company, according to mynorthwest.com: Ben Roethlisberger (22), Dan Marino (21), Matt Ryan (20) and Joe Flacco (20) are the only other quarterbacks to reach that number."

One of the big reasons Wilson has such a high winning percentage is because he has never lost a game at home. At CenturyLink Field, he is a perfect 13-0.

He will have a chance to go 14-0 on Monday against the New Orleans Saints when they visit on Monday Night Football. A win could help decide the best team in the NFC in the race for home-field advantage.

Regardless of the outcome, it is clear what Wilson means to the Seattle Seahawks. I can’t count how many tweets I saw yesterday that said Seahawks fans were thankful to have Wilson as their quarterback.

Wilson responded by tweeting that he was thankful to be the Seahawks quarterback:

An overall class act, let’s celebrate Russell Wilson and his accomplishments on a very exciting Blue Friday.

Happy birthday, DangeRuss.