Russell Wilson Salvaged a Win the Seahawks Didn't Deserve

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson approaches his position with a style that can lead to undeserved gifts—like significant gains after protection breaks down or a completion deep downfield at the mere flick of a wrist while running frantically.

He also gift-wraps undeserved wins. That’s what he did Sunday when the Seahawks ended a two-game slide, beating the Carolina Panthers on the road 13-9.

The win came with a wretched smell, the kind that makes you roam the house wondering what died. That is exactly the sort of win a championship team pulls from the ashes.

But before we appreciate Wilson’s latest heroics and an 80-yard drive that ended in a game-winning touchdown with 47 seconds left, let’s first peer down the deep, dark hole the Seahawks dug for themselves. Again.

A sputtering first half wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard this time, as it was last week when they trailed the St. Louis Rams 21-3 at one point. No, this time their largest deficit was only six points. That was partly because of the Seahawks’ defensive stonewalling in the red zone and partly due to the Panthers and their kind charity (a red-zone fumble on a botched exchange).

The Panthers ran 13 plays at or beyond Seattle’s 25-yard line in the first half, four of which came inside the 5-yard line. Yet they still settled for two field goals and didn’t score a touchdown.

That’s when the stench of this game started on another area of the scoreboard.

The epicenter of that first-half void was the opening quarter, when the Seahawks ran six plays and they were outgained offensively 105-17. They didn’t convert a third-down attempt until the 2:25 mark of the second quarter.

Even when life was seemingly found late in the half with a long 13-play drive, it was quickly devoured by the darkness. From Carolina’s 7-yard line Wilson looked to running back Marshawn Lynch on a slant. He led him a touch too far, but the ball was still catchable on a play that’s resulted in a touchdown often. This time it glanced off Lynch’s hands for an interception to end a long half of despair.

Our hero was still coming but not yet. First he was busy contributing to that awful smell.

The mistakes piled for Seattle, highlighted by a missed safety from defensive end Michael Bennett when he had Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in his grasp. And they continued in a stretch of three plays when the snap was fumbled twice, with the second another turnover deep in opposing territory.

But the most glaring and potentially game-altering mistake came from the eventual savior himself.

Again in the red zone and again one throw away from putting up seven points, the threat of Wilson's running led to the perfect creation by Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.

Wilson executed the read-option and choose to keep it while sprinting to his left, selling a run. The cornerback on that side of the field bit hard, with his hand forced by Wilson’s speed. That left tight end Cooper Helfet without a black jersey within about 15 yards. Easy touchdown and an easy lead, right?

Then a duck migration began.

Wilson wasn’t a hero at all for much of this game. He was only sporadically effective, averaging 6.2 yards per pass attempt and leading an offense that finished with 266 yards gained, a steep decline from last week’s total of 463 yards.

There was an overall plunge offensively from a week ago, making the final score that much more impressive.

	Total Yards	Yds/Play	Passing yards/attempt	Third down conversions
Week 7	463	6.8	8.7	6/12
Week 8	266	5.3	6.2	2/10

Really absorb those numbers and the mistakes that led to them. Then ask yourself: How did the Seahawks win this game? And did they deserve to win this game? The answers are Russell Wilson and probably not.

The best quarterbacks have an ability to forget. They forget an interception, a poor throw, a fumble and any other form of ghoulish nightmare that’s led to a particularly rough day in their often uncomfortable pocket office. When a win is still within reach it’s all blacked out because every mistake and stumble can be a memory with one moment of brilliance.

Russell Wilson can do all of that. The forgetting and the brilliance.

After a Graham Gano field goal that gave Carolina a three-point lead, Seattle took possession on its own 20-yard line with 4:37 left. Entering that game-deciding drive Wilson had completed 16 passes for only 139 yards. Now he had to cover 80 yards.

That is when our hero—and Wilson the wizard—finally arrived.

He connected on his first two throws and after a penalty scrambled for 14 yards to set up a 2nd-and-1 right at midfield. Over three minutes remained, and the winning touchdown was quickly within reach.

Four plays later the Seahawks were on Carolina’s 23-yard line, arriving again at the point of disaster. They had run 15 plays at or beyond the Panthers’ 25-yard line. The result: an interception, a fumble, a field goal and zero touchdowns.

But with one throw all of that was erased.

Wilson hit Luke Willson deep up the seam five yards ahead of the end zone, and the tight end did the rest while pinballing ahead. The Panthers had an opportunity to drive the field with 42 seconds left following the kickoff. But a still fierce Seahawks pass-rush dropped the hammer, sacking Newton twice.

"Lord knows we needed that one," defensive end Bruce Irvin told ESPN.com after recording both game-sealing sacks. "We were at a point in our season where we could go left or right. We went right and it's up from here.”

Committing those potentially crippling mistakes and falling behind isn’t a long-term recipe for success, and neither is leaning on Wilson's morphing into wizard mode. A week ago against the Rams an attempt at heroics fell short, even though Wilson threw three second-half touchdown passes and Seattle outscored St. Louis 21-7 over the final two quarters.

A more focused and consistent game is especially needed with a divisional gauntlet now looming in the not-so-distant future. The battledome of the NFC West and the fate of the defending champions may be decided when the Seahawks play five of their final six games against division opponents. That includes two games against the San Francisco 49ers and two against the Arizona Cardinals, the current division leaders.

But 10 game-winning drives since 2012—the second most over that period, according to ESPN Stats & Information—makes Wilson one of the league’s most reliable life rafts to deploy in a time of need.

Even if the other three quarters were forgettable, and can now be forgotten.