Russell Wilson brilliant when everything went silent versus Dolphins

In an important drive in the fourth quarter in week four versus the Dolphins, Russell Wilson lost communication with Brian Schottenheimer.

Russell Wilson wasn’t perfect on Sunday in the Seahawks 31-23 victory over the Dolphins. But he was still Russell Wilson and for most of a decade that has been good enough for Seattle to win football games. But when Wilson had to completely take control of the offense on Sunday because he and offense coordinator Brian Schottenheimer lost the ability to communicate, Wilson made the most of a strange situation.

With the Seahawks leading 17-15 after the Dolphins kicked their fifth field goal of the game (by the way, if you have a kicker position available you might want to pick up Miami kicker Jason Sanders in your fantasy league), Russell Wilson and Schottenheimer weren’t able to hear each other in their respective headsets. This started on the first play of possibly the most important drive of the game for Seattle.

The drive

Seattle started on its own 25-yard line with 8:31 left. Wilson had to call the plays himself. Up until this drive, Tyler Lockett had zero catches on just two targets. By the end of the drive, Lockett would have had two catches for 39 yards. Seattle would have run six plays and picked up three first downs and scored a touchdown in 3 minutes and 7 seconds.

The drive also showed how much trust Wilson has in each of his teammates. Two of the plays involved rookie DeeJay Dallas playing some of the first snaps of his career. On first-and-10 from the Dolphins 28, Wilson handed to Dallas who got two yards. On the next play, Wilson threw underneath to Dallas who gained 9 yards and a first down.

This set up one of Russell Wilson’s best throws of the game, a corner route to David Moore who leaped high to catch the pass for a touchdown. Seattle would lead 24-15 after the drive and basically sealed the game as Miami would only score 23 in the game.

Russell Wilson also did something else on the drive; He quickened the pace of the tempo and Miami wasn’t ready. On the touchdown pass, Wilson actually had a free play because he caught the Dolphins substituting, hurried his offense to the line, throwing the pass all while Miami was still trying to change players out. Miami was flagged on the play which Seattle clearly declined.

Having Wilson always call the plays might not be a good thing. Schottenheimer has been good at doing that this season and he sees the field a bit better than Wilson from the press box. But on Sunday when it mattered and Wilson couldn’t hear Schottenheimer, Wilson took control and Seattle got the win.