Seahawks week one MVP: The one and only Russell Wilson

The Seahawks got a typical performance from star quarterback Russell Wilson in the 2020 season opener. I mean, four touchdowns are good, right?

The Seahawks faced a lot of questions in the first game of 2020. The defense started four new players, while the offensive line had three new starters. That turned out to be okay, more than okay, in some cases. The best news is, Seattle still had Russell Wilson under center, the MVP of week one (and likely many more).

Let’s set the stage, shall we? For the third time in four years, the Seahawks would start the season on the road. Neither of the previous road trips ended with a win. In the past five seasons, the Hawks went just 2-3 to open the season and were outscored 108-97. That’s an average score of 22 – 19. Seattle’s biggest margin of victory in those five games was just two points. The teams they defeated were the Dolphins and Bengals. Miami was good in 2016, but the atrocious Cincinnati team won just two games in 2019.

The culprit? Many bemoaned the fact that Brian Schottenheimer wouldn’t turn Russell Wilson loose. While there may be some truth to that, it doesn’t hold up for the season openers. Number 3 threw 33 passes versus Denver in 2018 and lost. Last year, Wilson threw just 20 times – but the team won. Now, would they have won easily if DangeRuss had thrown more? I don’t know the answer to that – but I do know the Seahawks won easily today.

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Okay 12s, we all knew Russell Wilson was good, but this good? The Seahawks leader threw four touchdowns, as mentioned above. The thing is, when you throw as many touchdowns as incomplete passes, it’s fair to say you’ve had a pretty good day. All four of Wilson’s incompletions were thrown to DK Metcalf. As our own Willie Keeler wrote, the second-year receiver looked a bit more like a rookie today, as he dropped one perfect target. All was well, as he redeemed himself.

But back to Mr. Unlimited. I think he earned the right to call himself whatever he wants to. Wilson finished the game completing 31 of 35 passes for 322 yards, finding nine different players. Oh, and he tossed those four scores. He even led the team in rushing with 29 yards on three carries. Not to worry, as the Seahawks didn’t run the ball much, just 20 times in all. As the new O-linemen get acclimated, we’ll see the Hawks run the ball much more, don’t worry.

Still, it isn’t a bad thing to turn a player like Wilson loose, is it? The game was nowhere near as close as the final score suggests. There is zero doubt that the lion’s share of the credit – or is it the osprey’s? – goes to Russell Carrington Wilson.