Seattle Seahawks: 3 Big takeaways from win vs. Panthers in Week 12

Russell Wilson still has some magic in him

I mentioned that Wilson did not have a 300-yard passing game until this week. He really hasn’t had a bad season. In fact, he’s performing more efficiently than last season. But the explosiveness just hasn’t been there. His stats have been more in line with what I would expect from a high-quality game manager rather than a Pro Bowler and former Super Bowl champion.

On top of that, his “escapability” seemed to be fading. He was taking more sacks and successfully escaping and running less. I was actually starting to get concerned for Wilson, but he eliminated all my worries with his performance this weekend.

On a day when the run game wasn’t getting the job done, Wilson stepped up and took charge. He completed 22 out of 31 passes for 339 yards and a pair of touchdowns. This was vintage, big-game Wilson. He rose to the challenge, was clutch down the stretch, and got his team the win.

Wilson’s going to have to have more performances like this one if the Seahawks are going to make the playoffs though. There’s still a lot of season left to go and the playoff rankings will inevitably be shaken up.

Now that we’ve seen Wilson put up a 300-yard performance, hopefully others will follow. The Seahawks still have to play the Vikings, which will have huge wild card implications as well, and the roaring Kansas City Chiefs. All of the Seahawks will need to play their best games for those two matchups.