Russell Wilson’s back, Aaron Rodgers is back for a show inside Seahawks’ house of horrors
Russell Wilson spent some of his last practice before his return game, some of his first practices in a month, playing drums.
The Seahawks’ franchise quarterback was stretching with his teammates Friday afternoon. Phil Collins’ famous In the Air Tonight blared through the team’s indoor practice facility. When it came time for the song’s iconic drum solo, first performed in 1981 when none of these players were alive, tight end Will Dissly, running back Alex Collins and defensive tackle Jarrod Hewitt banged their make-believe drums, ferociously.
In the front stretching line as usual, Wilson did his air-drum imitation in a far more casual, understated way.
He’s saving his headlining performance for Sunday.
Wilson is back, returning from finger surgery on his throwing hand Oct. 8 to play for the first time in more than a month. And, oh yes, his Seahawks (3-5) need him. They are playing also-returning Aaron Rodgers and the NFC-leading Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field, where Seattle has not won since 1999.
“I think adversity brings out the best in you,” Wilson said. “And for me, I definitely went through some adverse times with the hand and everything else. It was a difficult moment.
“I feel like it’s a new beginning, a new start. And it’s time to get going all over again.”
It’s beyond time.
Wilson has missed Seattle’s last three games, and the fourth quarter of the game in which he got hurt Oct. 7 against the Rams. Those are the first three missed games of his 10-year career.
The Seahawks lost three of those four games without Wilson. Now they are heading into a fabled city and stadium that have been awful to them for a generation.
Seattle has lost nine consecutive times in Lambeau, six in the regular season and three in the playoffs. The last trip to Green Bay was Jan. 12, 2020, in the divisional playoff round. The Packers raced to a 21-3 lead in the first half. Wilson’s desperate rally fell short in another Seahawks loss at Lambeau, 28-23.
Wilson in Lambeau
Wilson was 10 years old the last time the Seahawks won at Lambeau. That was Nov. 1, 1999. On a Monday night, Brett Favre committed five turnovers and former Packers Super Bowl-winning coach Mike Holmgren won in his return to Green Bay for Seattle’s 27-7 victory.
Wilson, the former Wisconsin Badgers Rose Bowl quarterback, is 0-4 in Green Bay, including that playoff meeting two seasons ago. A career 65.2% passer, he has completed just 59.8% of his throws in Lambeau Field, with four touchdowns, six interceptions and 13 sacks. His passer rating in Green Bay is 71.7. That’s far below his career rating of 102.3, which is the fourth-highest in NFL history among regular starters behind Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson and Rodgers.
Why have the Seahawks trips to Wisconsin been as bad as moldy cheese? Why are they mostly bad for every team in the league? The Packers’ home record since 2010 is 71-18-1, the best in the NFC. Only New England (75-18) has been better at home the last 11 years than the Packers.
Temperatures are going to be in the mid-30s again Sunday in Green Bay. Packers fans are the heartiest in the NFL. Those are two factors.
Here are two more: the Seahawks have turned the ball over and fallen behind big early in their games at Lambeau Field. Wilson’s offense hasn’t scored more than three points in any first half of his games in Green Bay. The first-half scores for the Packers at home against the Seahawks since 2015 and Wilson’s first game at Green Bay: 55-12.
Seattle’s turnover margin in those losses: minus-6. That includes the career-high five interceptions Wilson threw at Lambeau Field on Dec. 11, 2016, in the Seahawks’ 38-10 defeat.
But Rodgers is the main reason Seattle hasn’t won in Green Bay since Wilson was in elementary school.
Rodgers in Lambeau
The three-time All-Pro returned to the Packers Saturday after a 10-day quarantine for a positive test for COVID-19.
“Aaron Rodgers is back in the building and set to be activated from the COVID list and will start Sunday against the Seahawks, per sources. Rodgers vs. Russell Wilson at Lambeau Field,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero posted on Twitter Saturday morning.
Rodgers orchestrates everything at Lambeau Field except turning the stadium’s lights on and off. The 37-year-old quarterback is 81-19-1 at home in the regular season since taking over for Favre as the Packers’ starter in 2008. He has thrown 227 touchdowns against just 37 interceptions inside Lambeau, for a home career passer rating of 109.
Seahawks All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner knows all about Seattle’s 22-year losing streak in Green Bay — and all about Rodgers.
“It’s been very cold out there,” said Wagner, who needs seven tackles to reach 100 for a 10th consecutive season, the NFL’s second-longest such streak in a quarter century. “It’s a hard place to play, a place where you have to be focused, and a place where you’re going into their backyard with a very smart and experienced quarterback that doesn’t have our crowd or anybody to distract them.
“He controls everything in that stadium,” Wagner said.
Including hard snap counts. Seattle’s defensive linemen have worked on them all this week, with coaches simulating Rodgers’ hard counts in drills. Still, expect Green Bay’s QB to draw the Seahawks offside again a couple of times Sunday, particularly on third down to get a first down.
“He understands the down and distance, for sure,” Wagner said. “You see with him, if they convert a third down or convert like a second down and that third down you try to get your pass rushers in. He’s really good at getting everybody lined up, and he always hikes the ball while somebody is running off the field. That’s something we’ve definitely got to be conscious of.
“The odds are typically stacked against you,” Wagner said of playing in Green Bay.
“But I like our odds this week.”
That’s because Wilson is back.
“I expect him to go just like he always plays. I don’t expect anything different, not a thing different,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “He is pretty hungry to play football, now. He missed it, so we have to make sure that he stays clear. If anything, I’m worried that he’s too excited and amped up.
“He’s been a pretty important player, and all of our history together. He’s played in this setting before. He’s been through so much football with us, and I just think it gives us every chance to be at our best.
“We’re planning on starting the second half off, and away we go. What a great way to start against a team that’s basically leading the NFC. It’s a championship match-up for sure for us.”
If there was ever a time for a grand return, a first career win in Green Bay for Wilson, it’s Sunday.
Despite losing five of their first eight games and often looking depressingly bad, the Seahawks are just one game out of a playoff spot in the NFC. The conference has seven playoff berths but only six teams with winning records.
“We have a goal to win it all,” Wilson said, “and everything we want to do is right there in front of us.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 9:14 AM.
