It has felt like an eternity since the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 54 just this past February.
Despite a global pandemic, the 2020 NFL season is finally here and the action is more anticipated and wanted than ever before. The league seems to have more talent than ever before. Offensive players like Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Christian McCafrey are becoming must-watch players on Sunday. On defense, Joey Bosa, Nick Bosa and Khalil Mack can completely change a game on their own.
But despite some of the fresh faces and new emerging stars, there is a team that has fostered one of the best in the game who doesn’t always seem to get the love he deserves. He’s a Super Bowl winner, MVP runner-up and perennial Pro-Bowler. That man is Russell Wilson.
Wilson has led the Seahawks to the playoffs in seven of their last eight seasons, including two Super Bowls and one Lombardi Trophy. At age 31, Wilson is entering the most mature part of his career and is equipped with maybe the best team put around him since the 2013 squad.
This is the year that the Seattle Seahawks are primed to win the Super Bowl. Yes, I said it. This year, the Sehawks have a chance at greatness. The stars have aligned and they are ready to make it their third Super Bowl appearance in eight years.
There are a lot of promising reasons as to why you should like the Seahawks in 2020, and even more come February 2021. That first reason is Wilson who we will look at more in depth.
Wilson is coming off his best season in the National Football League. In 2019, he finished second in MVP voting only to Lamar Jackson. Wilson threw for over 4100 yards and 31 touchdowns with just 5 interceptions. That’s an unprecedented clip from a passer who also ran for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns. But those are just merely numbers on a page. Advanced stats are showing us just how dominant Wilson can be in the National Football League.
Wilson has shown to be clutch in late-game situations, and that also applies on critical third-down plays. During the 2019 season, Pro Football Focus (PFF) gave Wilson an 88.4 ranking on third and fourth downs. That was first amongst all QB’s with the next best coming in at 81.1, which was Kirk Cousins’ mark. This shows that Wilson is able to make plays happen and keep the ball in his offense’s hands.
When it comes to winning a Super Bowl, big plays have to be made down the stretch. Wilson was the best in the entire league at that last year. PFF keeps a “big time throws” stat that compiles throws that are over 30 and 40 yards. Wilson had 40 of them in 2019, good enough to beat out Aaron Rodgers who landed second on the list with 36, followed by Carson Wentz with 32.
I could keep going on and on, but you get the point, Wilson has the stats in his bag to back up him as one of the game’s best. But a quarterback alone can’t win you a Super Bowl. But that is what makes this Seahawks roster so special, Wilson finally has some help on the offensive side of the ball.
The wide receiving corps has always been a weak link in Pete Carroll’s offense, but this year is different. Returning are Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf. Lockett proved to be one of Wilson’s go to guys on a long pass and Metcalf hushed all the doubters, putting up big numbers in his rookie season. This year, the Hawks added Greg Olsen, Cam Newton’s favorite target, from Carolina and a much needed veteran presence. They also took a flyer on the speedy Phillip Dorsett who could play perfectly across the middle.
Let’s talk about the running game. Chris Carson is one of the most underrated backs in the NFL. Carson has 2,381 rushing yards over the past two seasons, good for fifth most in the league. He is now backed up by Carlos Hyde. Hyde was a 1000 yard rusher in 2019. That is a dominant backfield that also features Rashad Penny when he is healthy.
The biggest issue on offense last season was that Wilson was scrambling for his life, being sacked 48 times. But the offensive line is now more experienced than years past and know this offense well. Wilson should have more time to throw.
Now let’s talk about the defense. This side of the ball has been strong in every single Pete Carroll team in Seattle and this year is no different. The big get was Jamal Adams from the New York Jets who makes this secondary completely different. A ball hawk and hard-hitter, Adams is just the kind of guy who Pete Carroll loves to coach up. Already a talented defender, this could be Adams best season ever.
Adams joins Tre Flowers, Shaquill Griffin and Quandre Diggs in a secondary that PFF ranks in the top-five. Best of all, Adams is good enough to coach up his new counterparts and should make them even better.
While the pass rush won’t be the same with Clowney, it is still a good unit. Carroll still has a lot of optimism for that group and is confident in them.
“I feel like there’s speed on the outside,” Carroll said of the pass rush. “All of our guys have had numbers. They’ve got numbers to bring with them. To bring 16 sacks to us, just in Benson and Bruce, that’s a real positive. Our guys last year didn’t add up anywhere near that. That’s a positive. Hopefully, we can enhance their play.”
Before the Seahawks can even think about the playoffs they must focus on their division, which is the best in the NFC. They 49ers are coming off a Super Bowl appearance and the Los Angeles Rams were there just two seasons ago. Oh, and Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals are destined to step their game up as well. Winning the NFC West is no easy feat, but longtime sports writer Peter King still sees the Seahawks as the most dominant group.
I’m picking Seattle to edge the Niners in the division. It’s overly simplistic to say it’s a referendum on the quarterbacks, but that has much to do with it. I trust Russell Wilson over Jimmy Garoppolo.”
The NFC as a whole will be tough to skirt by with the Saints going all in for what may be Drew Brees’ final season and the Buccaneers building an offensive juggernaut. But the Seahawks have been knocking at the door long enough and Super Bowl 55 could bare a Hawks championship banner all over it.
