Russell Wilson is running for his life behind the Seahawks’ weak offensive line, and a lot of times he can’t run fast enough.
Wilson was sacked four times yesterday in Cincinnati, giving him a league-high 22 sacks so far this season. That puts him on pace to surpass 70 sacks this year, a total that has only been achieved twice in NFL history: By David Carr with the expansion Texans in 2002, and by Randall Cunningham in his first year as a starter in 1986.
A good runner who sometimes relies too much on his ability to make plays with his feet, Wilson has always taken a lot of sacks: He took 42 last year and 44 the year before. But 70 sacks in a season is a number that virtually assures the offense will be a disaster, and calls into question whether Wilson will even last 16 games.
With less time to pass this year, Wilson is also relying more on shorter, safer passes, which is why his completion rate is a career-high 70.7 percent while his yards per completion average is a career-low 11.2. Unless the Seahawks’ line starts playing a lot better, it’s hard to see Seattle turning things around after its 2-3 start.
