Teammate: Russell Wilson 'as good or better' than Andrew Luck, RG-3
Quick.
Name the NFL quarterback who has beaten the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears this season.
That would be Russell Wilson, the rookie third-round pick for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson pulled off his latest feat Sunday at Soldier Field as the Seahawks defeated the Bears for the third consecutive regular season in Chicago, winning 23-17 in overtime.
Wilson passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns, directing a 97-yard touchdown drive in the final four minutes of regulation and then marching the offense 80 yards for a score on the opening possession of overtime. Wilson rushed for 71 yards, all but four of them coming after halftime as he carved up the veteran Bears defense with a zone read.
“He is one of the best quarterbacks out there and I think people try to short change him because of his height or because the measurable or whatever it was,” Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said. “Show me a rookie against the No. 1 defense out there, arguably, drive the ball 97 yards and score and how about him going into overtime against the same defense and scoring again? They’ve got great players out there, (Charles) Tillman, seven forced fumbles, a couple picks. (Tim) Jennings, leading the league in picks. Any time you have (Julius) Peppers out there, you have problems. You have got (Brian) Urlacher, who is probably a Hall of Famer. And this kid just went out there and played out of his mind. I am so proud of him.”
I asked Sherman if Wilson would be getting greater accolades this season if it were not for the terrific seasons the top two picks from the April draft – Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III – are enjoying.
“It’s just kind of that thing, they’re going to hype who they are going to hype,” Sherman said. “You are in the Seattle market, it doesn’t matter what you do. He’s beat the Bears, the Packers, the Patriots. You show me another quarterback with his resume and I’ll show you a great quarterback. But he doesn’t get the credit because they don’t want to give him the credit. They don’t want to make him a big name. They make the guys a big name that they want to make a big name. He’s a great quarterback and he’s probably as good or better than those guys.”
As good or better than Luck and Griffin? It might be a little premature to go there. But Wilson does have the Seahawks (7-5) pointed toward the postseason right now and he’s fone four consecutive games without an interception. He’s playing winning football.
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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune