12th Man Rising
FanSided

Stop calling Dak Prescott the new Russell Wilson. It’s simply wrong.

By Todd Vandenberg

SEATTLE, WA - NOVEMBER 15: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks warms up before the game against the Green Bay Packers at CenturyLink Field on November 15, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - NOVEMBER 15: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks warms up before the game against the Green Bay Packers at CenturyLink Field on November 15, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /
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Russell Wilson, ballcarrier
ARLINGTON, TX – DECEMBER 24: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks scrambles with the ball in the first quarter of a football game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Russell Wilson was at his best when he had to be

Wilson had no running game in 2017. Everyone knew the Seahawks had to pass, and yet DangeRuss#3 had a great season. Seattle only had 1,629 rushing yards that year. As you’ll recall, Number 3 was the leading rusher with 586 of those yards. The Hawks only had 1,043 yards on the ground from people without “Wilson” on their jersey. Of course, that was the season the Seahawks quarterback set an NFL record by creating over 80 percent of their offense. Seattle only scored one touchdown all year that number 3 didn’t contribute to directly.

That’s how superstars play with no supporting cast. The Seahawks didn’t have a single running back with over 240 yards rushing in 2017. Prescott had nearly twice the support in the ground game as Wilson, but played far worse. For the record, Dallas went just 6-4 in the games Elliott started, including a 21-12 loss to the Seahawks on Christmas Eve.

As I wrote earlier, this year Prescott did bounce back. Zeke led the league in rushing, and Prescott benefited from that considerably. His passer rating puts him 14th in the NFL; not terrific, but better than Ben Rothlisberger and Cam Newton. It also puts him just behind two all-time greats, Tom Brady and Aaron Dawson. Note that for them, a passer rating out of the top ten is a rarity, not the norm.

Russell Wilson “only” had a passer rating of 110.9 this season, the best of his career. That was third in the league, by the way. He threw for 35 touchdowns, another career high. That resulted in a touchdown percentage of 8.2, second best in the league. Wilson’s passer rating rankings over his career going back from this season are third, 10th, 14th, first, 10th, seventh, and fourth.

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