The Seattle Seahawks are in a good spot. They are 8-3, they are atop the NFC West, and they trail the New Orleans Saints (9-2) by one game for the top seed in the NFC.
But can they get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2014?
“This is a prime opportunity for Seattle,” JR SportBrief said on CBS Sports Radio. “This is a prime opportunity for Russell Wilson to just continue to build on his legacy. We know the first Super Bowl that he won – the only Super Bowl that he won – the Seahawks were one of the best defensive teams of all time.”
That team, of course, had the Legion of Boom. Richard Sherman. Kam Chancellor. Earl Thomas. The list goes on. That unit led Seattle to a 43-8 win over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. It was pure dominance from start to finish.
In those days, though, Wilson was more or less a game manager.
“Russell Wilson was the ‘don’t mess the game up’ [quarterback],” JR said. “The next go-around, Pete Carroll, he had a brain fart against the New England Patriots. He decided to make sure that Russell Wilson gave the ball to Malcolm Butler instead of giving it to Beast Mode.”
The Seahawks have made the playoffs in four of the last five seasons but have never returned to the Super Bowl. Or even the NFC Championship.
“Russell Wilson could legitimately right now have two Super Bowls,” JR said. “But I’ll tell you this much: This man says he wants to play until he is in his 40s. I don’t care what Russell Wilson does the remainder of his career. I believe he’s played like a Hall of Famer. I believe he is on the road to being in the Hall of Fame. If he can tack on a few more years of the success he’s had, [being] the epitome of a winner, Russell Wilson will go into the Hall of Fame. Picking up another Super Bowl, whether it’s this year or five years from now, Russell Wilson, he doesn’t need another Super Bowl to cement his legacy; he’s already on the road.
“So as we watch the remainder of this season, Pete Carroll is high on the Seahawks defense,” JR continued. “Me, not so much. But I hope the defense can improve. I hope Russell Wilson does have an opportunity to get some help besides the offensive side of the ball because they are finally letting Russell Wilson cook. I think people are finally starting to pay attention to how great Russell Wilson is.”