<
        >

          NFL Nation

          Russell Wilson has the numbers for MVP, but do Seahawks have the wins?

          play
          Herm: 'Wilson is playing at an MVP level' (1:01)

          Week 14's matchup between the Seahawks and Jaguars will be a battle between offensive and defensive lines. (1:01)

          • Brady HendersonDec 8, 2017, 07:00 PM
            Close
              Brady Henderson is a reporter for NFL Nation and covers the Seattle Seahawks for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2017 after covering the team for Seattle Sports 710-AM.
            Follow on X

          RENTON, Wash. -- Asked earlier this week about Russell Wilson's case for MVP, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll actually mentioned something that could work against his quarterback's chances of winning the award.

          "We'll see what happens. I think the MVP comes off of one of the teams that's the best teams in the league," Carroll told 710 ESPN Seattle during his weekly radio show. "Let's see what happens. We've got a finish ahead of us that gives us a chance to do whatever we want to do, and if we're in the midst of it all, then there's no question that he's done everything a guy could do on a team."

          To Carroll's first point, the MVP award has tended to come from a team that finishes at or near the top of its conference standings. Eight of the past 10 winners have played on teams that earned either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the playoffs: Matt Ryan (2), Cam Newton (1), Aaron Rodgers (2), Peyton Manning (1), Adrian Peterson (6), Aaron Rodgers (1), Tom Brady (1), Manning (1), Manning (5), Brady (1).

          The two exceptions were Peterson in 2012, when he rushed for more than 2,000 yards; and Manning in 2008, when his Colts finished 12-4.

          The Seahawks (8-4) sit fifth in the NFC standings heading into Sunday's game at Jacksonville. Finishing with one of the top two seeds is a long shot for Seattle, with Minnesota and Philadelphia already at 10 wins.

          Wilson currently has the third-best MVP odds, at 11-to-2, behind Brady (8-to-11) and Carson Wentz (7-to-4), whose teams both sit in the No. 2 seed in their respective conferences.

          Wilson's MVP case certainly has credibility based on his own play. Consider:

          • He's thrown or rushed for 29 of Seattle's 30 offensive touchdowns this season, or 97 percent (the one he didn't have a hand in is J.D. McKissic's 30-yard TD run in Week 4). According to ESPN Stats & Information, that would be the highest percentage of a team's offensive touchdowns coming from one player in NFL history.

          • Wilson leads the Seahawks in rushing by a wide margin with 432 yards. The next-closest player, running back Chris Carson (208), is on injured reserve and won't return for at least two more weeks, if he returns at all this season. That means Wilson has a very real shot to finish as the team's leading rusher. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only four quarterbacks since the 1970 merger have done that.

          • Wilson has accounted for 86 percent of Seattle's scrimmage yards. According to the NFL, that would be the highest percentage by any single player in the Super Bowl era.

          • Wilson has thrown 26 touchdown passes, tied with Brady for second-most behind Wentz's 29. Fifteen of Wilson's touchdown passes have come in the fourth quarter, which, according to ESPN Stats & Information, ties the NFL's single-season record set by Eli Manning in 2015.

          Wilson has the individual numbers to be the league's MVP. But, fair or not, his team may not have the wins.

          "He's our MVP right now," Carroll said. "You surely can see that clearly."