Before 2021, Russell Wilson hadn't missed a single NFL start in his career and hadn't been shut out.
Those streaks are over.
Returning after missing three games due to finger surgery on this throwing hand, Wilson was ineffective Sunday, struggling to make good throws en route to a 17-0 loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Despite suffering the first shutout of his career and completing 20 of 40 passes for a piddling 161 yards and two interceptions for a 39.7 passer rating, Wilson said the issue wasn't with his surgically repaired finger.
"My finger felt fine," Wilson said, via ESPN. "The problem with tonight was I had two bad plays. That's what it really was."
Perhaps it was only two bad plays in Wilson's eyes, but the Pro Bowl quarterback missed a host of throws on the afternoon against a good Packers defense. Wilson tossed 10 off-target incompletions, including eight overthrows, per ESPN Stats & Info. He generated a -7.2 completion percentage over expected, via Next Gen Stats. And he was particularly bad versus Packers pressure, going 4-of-12 for 33 yards, 1 INT and a 7.6 passer rating when pressured.
Wilson's most egregious error of the night was less a physical issue than a mental one. Trailing 3-0 in scoring range, Wilson threw a bad interception in the end zone. His second INT came on a deep prayer to Tyler Lockett into double coverage.
"You never want to second-guess yourself on those plays because you make so many of them," Wilson said. "But in that kind of game where it was back and forth, back and forth, that's where I can eliminate that mistake and allow us to kick the field goal and make it 3-3 and here we go. Now it's 3-3, a 0-0 game basically and keep playing. Like I said, 100% accountability on myself that that happened. Nobody else's fault."
Wilson returned earlier than most traditional rehab timelines suggest, missing just a month after the surgery. Coach Pete Carroll, however, didn't rethink the decision to activate Wilson for Sunday's bout.
"He had a couple bad plays," Carroll said. "I know you're wondering was he ready and all that kind of stuff. He was ready to play. There was nothing else, there was no other information leading to this [that] could tell us any different. He was pumped and got after it and all that and he did nice job today. They're a good defense and we couldn't get enough going on to make the points we needed. They couldn't, either, until they did. It's a big opportunity that we missed out on. It's disappointing. This was a real shot and we could feel it and we knew it, and fortunately we couldn't get the right plays made at the right time to get it done."
The double-digit loss pushes the Seahawks to 3-6, two wins behind a potential playoff spot. If Seattle is to reverse gears and go on a winning streak in the second half of the season, starting with next week's bout against the Cardinals, they'll need more from Wilson.
