The Falcons contributed to Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks divorce

The Atlanta Falcons know how great former Seattle Seahawks and current Denver Broncos quarterback, Russell Wilson is. They have seen it firsthand as Wilson has won four out of seven games against the Dirty Birds — ironically, two of the losses came in the only two playoff games between the two sides

What many might not have known is that the Falcons actually played a role in the eventual breakup between the Seahawks and the greatest quarterback in Seahawks’ history.

The Atlanta Falcons were actually at the center of the bad blood between Russell Wilson and the Seahawks

It is an ironic story because it might have never happened if the Atlanta Falcons were a competitive team back in 2019.

Brady Henderson, ESPN’s Seattle Seahawks reporter, wrote an article detailing the events that led up to the bad blood between the team and the player. It starts out by discussing just how frustrated Wilson was watching Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes duke it out — or you could say, the Buccaneers defense landing haymakers on Mahomes all game — during Super Bowl LV.

Obviously, Russ is a competitor, he wanted nothing more than to be in the game taking on Mahomes and the Chiefs — not to take another shot at Kansas City, but surely they wish that would have been the scenario too.

It was well chronicled how frustrated Russ had become with the lack of protection up front, and he had good reason to be, but what wasn’t talked about as much is how Wilson felt like head coach Pete Carroll ruined his chances of becoming league MVP back in 2019.

The Seahawks were going up against the Atlanta Falcons in October of 2019 and the Ravens who had Lamar Jackson (the eventual league MVP) were in a bye week, so as the article talked about, this was the chance for Wilson to make a statement.

Must read: The shocking stats for the Atlanta Falcons in 2021

But, there was a big problem, the Falcons were not a good team at all. You might think that would be a good thing for Russ but considering Seattle had a 24-0 lead going into halftime, Pete Carroll didn’t see the need to pass the ball in the second half as Russ only attempted five passes in the second half. He ended the game only throwing 20 passes, completing 14 of them for 182 yards and two touchdowns, not exactly stats you would associate “MVP” with. It obviously wasn’t Russell’s fault because he did the most with the opportunity he was given.

What all of this is basically saying is that the Falcons were so bad that the Seahawks hardly had to use Russell, which then made him mad because he was gunning for an MVP award. Here is an excerpt from the article regarding that situation:

"Afterward, according to a source who spoke with the quarterback, Wilson was livid at how Carroll had taken his foot off the gas, believing it had cost him a chance to grab hold of the MVP race."

While it is highly unlikely, if the Falcons would have been a competitive team, Russell would have been able to put up more stats, resulting in a happier Russell Wilson because he has his name in the middle of MVP talks, and maybe, just maybe, the feud between the player and organization wouldn’t have boiled over the way it did.

Again, unlikely, but you never know. What we do know is that the Falcons ultimately contributed to the dispute, in a sad, but ironic way.

In the end, Denver should be now thanking the Atlanta Falcons for how things played out.

On another note, Russell Wilson STILL hasn’t even received a SINGLE vote for NFL MVP, how that is possible is beyond me.

Go check out the full article on ESPN, it is fascinating as it details some inside information that not many people would not know otherwise.

A look at how the Atlanta Falcons have been torched by Russell Wilson and the Seahawks

It only seems fitting to end this with a quick look at how the Atlanta Falcons have been burned by the former Seahawks quarterback.

Here is a look at Russell Wilson’s stats when he has faced the Atlanta Falcons during regular season play:

• 4-1 record
• 115/160, 71.9% completion
• 1,319 passing yards
• 10 passing touchdowns
• 1 interception
• 146 rushing yards
• 1 rushing touchdown

Well, it only takes one word to sum these stats up for Wilson — efficient.

Having a completion percentage that high amongst five games is impressive but what is even more impressive is that he has ten touchdowns to just one interception.

In those five games, he only had one game with zero passing touchdowns, three games he had two, and in the most recent game that took place back in 2020, he had four touchdowns through the air, it is also the only game where he broke 300 passing yards.

While it might not be as dominant as Tom Brady vs. the Atlanta Falcons, it is still pretty bad.

However, the Atlanta Falcons have gotten the better of him during the only two postseason games they have played against each other. Here are those stats:

• 0-2 record
• 41/66, 62.1% completion
• 610 passing yards
• 4 passing touchdowns
• 3 interceptions
• 109 rushing yards
• 1 rushing touchdown

The two games took place in 2013 when Russell was a rookie and in 2017 when the Falcons ended up making the Super Bowl.

The one stat that matters is that Russ is winless vs. the Falcons during the postseason. Obviously, the only way he breaks that winless streak — assuming he finishes his career in Denver — is if he beats the Falcons in the Super Bowl, and let’s be honest, the chances of him even getting a chance to do that is extremely low.

So, it seems like we will always be able to claim that Russell Wilson has never been able to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in the postseason.