Russell Wilson has been one of the most consistent and successful quarterbacks of his generation. He is now going to bring that resume to the Denver Broncos.
Russell Wilson, a third-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2012 draft, was supposed to be a career backup or a project quarterback that was seen as “too small” by many scouts.
He proved all of that wrong almost immediately when he beat out Matt Flynn, who the Seahawks had signed to a big deal that offseason, for the starting quarterback job. Head coach Pete Carroll just could not keep him on the bench and that decision paid off as Wilson and the Seahawks won the Super Bowl one year later.
Looking across the decade that Wilson has played in the league, he has put forth several elite performances. Here, you will see that Wilson can get the job done with his arm and his legs while also helping the Seahawks win a lot of games.
No wonder why Broncos fans are so excited for the 2022 season, though there should be some trepidation.
Here are the 10 best games of Wilson’s NFL career.
Russell Wilson’s best games: No. 10- November 11, 2018, at Los Angeles Rams
The Seahawks went to Los Angeles for this game and Wilson did everything he could to get his team the win.
The Seahawks got off to a rough start in 2018, getting beaten by the Broncos in the season opener. They were 4-4 going into this game, looking for a spark to get them through the season.
Wilson only threw for 176 yards in this game but he threw three touchdown passes and also rushed for 92 yards in the game, helping the Hawks put 31 points on the board.
Unfortunately, the Rams scored 36 to win the game and drop Seattle to 4-5 on the year. But Seattle would only lose one more game that season en route to a playoff berth.
Russell Wilson’s best games: No. 9: 0ctober 3, 2019, vs. Los Angeles Rams
The Seahawks won three of their first four games to start the 2019 season before having the Rams come to town in early October. Wilson had many great contests against the Rams but unlike the No. 10 game on this list, he won this one.
Barely.
Wilson went 17-for-23 passing in this game for 268 yards and four touchdowns. All of that was enough to beat the Rams by one point, 30-29.
Russell Wilson’s best games: No. 8: October 6, 2014, at Washington
The Seahawks were the defending champions in 2014 and just before this game, the Seahawks faced the team they beat to win the Super Bowl, the Broncos, and that game went into overtime. The Seahawks won 26-20 but they got all they wanted from the Broncos and Peyton Manning.
It was a good thing they had their bye week before having to play Washington.
Seattle was able to get a key road win over Washington after Wilson completed 18-of-24 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. He added a career-high 122 yards rushing in the game and a touchdown on the ground as well.
The Seahawks won the game 27-17.
Russell Wilson’s best games: No. 7: September 12, 2021, at Indianapolis Colts
In one of the more interesting opening day matchups last season, the Seahawks were able to go into Lucas Oil Stadium and hand Carson Wentz and the Colts a loss.
Wilson had a lot to do with that.
Wilson went 18-of-23 on the day and threw for 254 yards and four touchdown passes as the Seahawks won the game, 28-16.
That’s a great way to start the season and if the Broncos got that kind of performance from Wilson right out of the gate this year, excitement levels would be through the roof.
Russell Wilson’s best games: No. 6: November 22, 2015, vs. San Francisco 49ers
Following a difficult home loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Wilson bounced back by starting one of the best three-game stretches of his entire career. Another one of those games is also on this list, a little bit higher up.
In this game against the divisional rival Niners, Wilson completed 24-of-29 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns as the Seahawks got a big 29-13 win at home.
Russell Wilson’s best games: No. 5: October 28, 2018, at Detroit Lions
The numbers for this game are not eye-popping. But Wilson played an efficient, mistake-free game on the road and the Seahawks earned a 14-point win over the Lions.
Wilson completed just 14-of-17 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns. But he finished the game with a 158.3 QB rating and though the QB rating formula is one of the more difficult to understand in all of sports, a 158.3 rating is perfect and the absolute highest that a quarterback can get for a game.
Russell Wilson’s best games: No. 4: September 27, 2020, vs. Dallas Cowboys
The Seahawks started the 2020 season 5-0 and this was the third game of that run. The Cowboys came to the Pacific Northwest and went blow for blow with Seattle but in the end, Wilson was the difference.
Russ passes for 315 yards on the day but he tossed five touchdown passes, matching a career-high in that department. Three of those went to Tyler Lockett and the Seahawks survived the shootout, beating the Cowboys 38-31.
Russell Wilson’s best games: No. 3: November 29, 2015, vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Back in these days, Seattle was perhaps the toughest place in the league to go to and get a win. The Seahawks were very tough to beat at home and it seemed like they always got a team’s best shot.
That was the case on this day as the Pittsburgh Steelers came to town. Ben Roethlisberger passed for 456 yards on the day and it still wasn’t enough.
Wilson threw for 345 yards but he also tossed five touchdowns, three of which went to Doug Baldwin, including an 80-yard bomb that gave the Seahawks the decisive score in a 39-30 victory.
Russell Wilson’s best games: No. 2: October 19, 2014, at St. Louis Rams
Had the Seahawks won this game, there is a good chance that it would be No. 1 on this list simply because Wilson nearly beat the Rams by himself in this game.
Watching the game, he was not to be denied. he gave 100 percent of himself in this one, passing for 313 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 106 yards and another score.
The Rams still pulled out the victory, however, 28-26.
If you played against Wilson in fantasy football that day (I did), I’m sorry.
Russell Wilson’s best games: No. 1: November 3, 2019, vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Statistically, this is the best game of Wilson’s career.
The Seahawks had another solid squad in 2019 and the Buccaneers, well they didn’t. But Jameis Winston brought his Bucs to Seattle and they nearly stole one. They would have if the Seahawks had a different quarterback.
Seattle needed overtime to overcome Tampa but it was Wilson’s five touchdowns and 378 yards passing that got them over the hump. Wilson threw his fifth touchdown, the game-winner, to walk it off in the extra frame.