In spite of the Seattle Seahawks seeming return to a ground based offense, quarterback Russell Wilson had been having a phenomenal 2018 campaign through the air. Through the first 12 games he had put himself within striking distance of a career high in touchdown passes, while potentially recording a career low in interceptions.
Well, the momentum of his 2018 campaign seemed to come to a screeching halt on Monday against the Minnesota Vikings, who held Wilson to an ugly statline that included 10 completions on 20 attempts for just 72 yards and an interception. It was just the second time this season that Russell has been held without a touchdown pass, and the first time this season he has ended the game with more interceptions than touchdowns.
However, in spite of the issues the Seahawks faced throwing the ball on Monday in the absence of Doug Baldwin, Wilson did get into the swing of things with his contributions to the ground game. Apparently tired of hearing how the Seattle ground game is dominating, and watching the likes of Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny and Mike Davis get all the praise and accolades, Wilson made sure to put his stamp on the 2018 Seahawks run game.
Specifically, Russell did this.
OKAY, RUSS! @DangeRussWilson goes 40 yards on an incredible scramble! #Seahawks
— NFL (@NFL) December 11, 2018
: #MINvsSEA on ESPN pic.twitter.com/u0LuuaaWrZ
That scramble wasn’t just the longest run of the night for the Seahawks, it was more than double the length of the second longest run, Penny’s sideline to sideline cutback carry that gained 17 after the Vikings appeared to have bottled him up initially.
Rashaad Penny got his money’s worth on this run #MINvsSEA pic.twitter.com/W4NrvsPplB
— Seattle Times Sports (@SeaTimesSports) December 11, 2018
Further, the scramble wasn’t just the long offensive play of the night, with the longest pass play for Seattle gaining just 14 yards on a Wilson completion to Tyler Lockett.
To see how significant that scramble was, let’s look at the Hawks 2018 rushing stats.
And there we have it, that scramble was the longest run by any member of the Seahawks in 2018. So, while the running game for the Hawks this season is carried by his teammates, Wilson made sure to put his mark on the record book. And with just three games to go, the opportunities for the running backs on the roster to reset that season long are not in abundance. Overall, Seattle remains the number one rushing team in the NFL in total attempts and yards on the ground, while Carson needs 206 yards to become the team’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Marshawn Lynch in 2014. It’s notable progress for a seventh round pick who has 179 attempts this season after only getting 213 attempts in his entire college career. As for Wilson, one more touchdown pass and he’ll join Aaron Rodgers as the only players in history with three seasons of at least 30 touchdowns in the air and 300 yards on the ground, an accomplishment that itself has only happened 13 times in history.
Now, the next important question becomes whether 2018 will be the first season of his career in which Wilson does not record a rushing touchdown.