The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/89497
■ PACK PROS Russell Wilson Continues To Work His Magic tiest, but he has continued to find a way to get things done at the NFL level and has impressed observers with his late-game heroics. His statistics are not the best for a starting S rookie quarterback, but no other first-year signal-caller has led his team to four wins so far this year. Wilson had the Seahawks at 4-3 following the completion of week seven, and the other four rookies who are starting under center — all of whom were drafted in the first round — have combined for 10 victories. Most impressively, Wilson — the sixth quarterback taken in the 2012 NFL Draft — has led his team to wins over teams piloted by Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton and Tom Brady. He staged fourth-quarter comebacks over Brady and Rodgers, who have combined to win four Super Bowl rings, and Wilson is the first rookie since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to throw two game-winning scores in the final two minutes, according to The Elias Sports Bureau. He nearly did the same in the clos- ing seconds of the loss to the Cardinals in his NFL debut. However, Wilson's Oct. 14 comeback will go down as his most impressive game to date. The Seahawks trailed the Patriots by 13 at home in a heavy mist with nine minutes left on the clock. The rookie calmly led his team on an 83-yard touchdown drive. The teams exchanged a few posses- sions before Wilson and his offense got the ball on their own 43-yard line with just more than two and a half minutes remain- ing. On the fourth play of the drive, Wilson hit wide receiver Sidney Rice for a game- winning 46-yard touchdown. The perfectly placed ball traveled 57 yards in the air, and he finished the game 16-of-27 passing for 293 yards with three touchdowns and just one turnover, a fumble in the first half. "This is what I've been waiting for my whole life," he told Sports Illustrated's Pe- ter King after the game. "God's given me a blessing and an opportunity. "I've always looked up to Tom, even though he's 6-foot-4, 6-5 and a different kind of player. He's so smart, got so much competitive fire and tenacity. He didn't get drafted high, and he had to work for ev- erything he ever got. I really identify with him. I try to prepare the same way I know he prepares." 124 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY RYAN TICE eattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson's numbers may not be the pret- Wilson led Seattle to a 4-3 record through Oct. 22, completing 59.4 percent of his passing at- tempts for 1,230 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. PHOTO COURTESY SEATTLE SEAHAWKS Philip Rivers Reaches Several Landmarks San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers passed several landmarks in his team's 37-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs Sept. 30, his 100th NFL start. His first completion of the day was the 2,000th of his career, while he surpassed 25,000 passing yards a few plays later. Rivers became the seventh fastest to reach the milestone out of the 63 quar- terbacks who have thrown for more than 25,000 yards, doing so in his 104th game. The signal-caller has completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 1,492 yards with 10 touchdowns and nine intercep- tions through six games this season, which brings his career totals to 2,069 comple- tions for 25,777 yards with 173 touch- downs and 87 interceptions. The Chargers were 3-3 through week seven, while Rivers ranks eighth in the NFL in completion percentage (.665), 11th in touchdown throws, 18th in passer rating (85.3) and 20th in passing yards.