The Seahawks were 1-4. Then they were 4-5. A disappointing season got worse when they lost Marshawn Lynch to injury. Then Jimmy Graham. Then Lynch’s star replacement Thomas Rawls. But as they lost more and more weapons on offense a weird thing happened. They got better. Now sitting firmly in control of their wild card playoff destiny behind a four game win streak, the Seahawks are 8-5. This has all happened behind the arm of Russell Wilson. And it begs the question – has he played his way into the MVP discussion? When you consider he’s playing the best football of his career as the best pieces of his offense have permanently hit the ice tub, it’s fair to say he’s carrying the team on his back.
Here are his stats during this four game win streak:
| Opponent | Att | Comp | Yds | TDs | Ints | Rat | Rush Yds | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers | 29 | 24 | 260 | 3 | 0 | 138.5 | 30 | 29-13 W |
| Steelers | 30 | 21 | 345 | 5 | 0 | 147.9 | 14 | 39-30 W |
| Vikings | 27 | 21 | 274 | 3 | 0 | 146.0 | 51 (1 TD) | 38-7 W |
| Ravens | 32 | 23 | 292 | 5 | 0 | 139.6 | 6 | 35-6 W |
In case you were curious, that adds up to him completing 75% of his passes with 16 touchdowns and no interceptions in a 4 game stretch. Seldom has any quarterback ever had a run like this. More impressively you’ll notice from the rushing totals he’s doing less than ever with his feet with the exception of the Vikings game. His lowest QB Rating during this stretch was 138.5. Thanks to this stretch Wilson now leads the NFL with a 110.0 quarterback rating ahead of MVP favorite Cam Newton’s 96.9 (good for 8th place).
Surprisingly Wilson only has 26 touchdown passes through 13 games, which means he had only 10 touchdown passes in 9 games prior to this 16 touchdowns in a 4 game stretch. The big question is whether the poor start will doom his chances at winning an MVP award. Without question, though, if he can end the season guiding the Seahawks to the playoffs while continuing this torrid pace despite being without Jimmy Graham, Marshawn Lynch and Thomas Rawls – he has to be in the MVP discussion.
The front runners remain Cam Newton, Tom Brady, Carson Palmer and Aaron Rodgers but no longer can you ignore Wilson’s merits. He’s vaulted himself into the elite quarterback discussion.
