NFL Seattle Seahawks

Russell Wilson Shows Hall of Fame Traits In NFC Championship Win

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By @writered21

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Russell Wilson is not merely a game manager who rode a great defense to a Super Bowl championship a year ago. Against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon in the NFC Championship Game, Wilson showed all the traits that make up an elite quarterback who will someday go into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Wilson, after an absolutely disaster of a start that at one point included three interceptions on eight passes, led the Seattle Seahawks to three touchdowns late in the fourth quarter and in overtime as Seattle shocked Green Bay, 28-22, to win the NFC title for the second consecutive season and earn a berth in Super Bowl XLIX. He finished 14-for-29 for 209 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions, which certainly don’t look like the stats of a future Hall of Famer in a championship game.

But forget the numbers.

Down 19-7 in the final minutes of regulation, Wilson led Seattle to 15 straight points, then took the ball to start overtime and finished an 87-yard drive with a 35-yard pass to Jermaine Kearse to end the game in one of the most thrilling finishes in playoff history.

And yes in one sense, Green Bay has no one to blame but itself. The Packers were up 19-7 with the two-minute warning just seconds away and only a late field goal even sent the game to overtime after Seattle rallied to take the lead. The Packers were undone by a defense that fell apart late and early conservativeness by head coach Mike McCarthy when he opted for field goals instead of capitalizing on early Wilson mistakes by punching the ball in for touchdowns.

But in the end, this game and its result come down to Wilson’s greatness. It can’t always be seen in the numbers. It can’t always be seen in passer rating or yards or any of the other metrics that so many NFL fans seem to have fallen in love with thanks to fantasy football. Some quarterbacks just win. Wilson did it last year, and when Seattle’s future looked its most bleak today, Wilson did it again, leading the charge to send Seattle back to the Super Bowl for the third time in its history.

And while in two weeks, Wilson will be facing either Andrew Luck or Tom Brady, two quarterbacks known for their eye-popping numbers, it would be wise to remember this day and the career Wilson is building. Back-to-back Super Bowl wins are a realistic possibility for a quarterback who is still on his rookie contract; and if this pace continues, he will carve a golden pathway to the Hall of Fame.

Ed Morgans is an ACC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @writered21 and add him to your network on Google.

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