Russell Wilson Versus Cam Newton: A Budding Rivalry

Russell Wilson has faced Cam Newton six times in his career, including the playoffs. Is this the beginning of a rivalry similar to Brady vs. Manning?

Russell Wilson went 0-2 against Cam Newton’s Panthers in the 2015 season and postseason. He had won the last four against Newton and the Panthers during his first three years in the league. For the second year in a row, Wilson’s Seahawks played Newton’s Panthers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. This year, the Panthers were too good to be beaten at home by a foe that has owned them in recent seasons.

The recent swing back in Newton’s favor in the head-to-head matchup with Wilson and the Seahawks has added some intrigue to this budding rivalry between two extremely talented, young quarterbacks who are changing the NFL in wildly different ways. Newton has an extra year on Wilson after being drafted by Carolina first overall a year before the Seahawks famously took Wilson in the third round of the 2012 draft, but they both still have much to prove.

Russell Wilson has always been a team player and a role model for those whose faith is a large part of their life. Roll your eyes all you want at his celibacy despite dating a hot R&B starlet (he won’t be getting her goodies until he puts a ring on it), the man has exactly the right attitude that you want a franchise quarterback to have. His poise under pressure on the field flows easily to his poise and his confidence off the field. He’s the kind of player who is undoubtedly re-watching game film while I binge-watch “House of Cards.”

Russell Wilson essentially wants to be a traditional pocket passer. If we learned anything this year about him, it’s that he can take over a game the same way a pocket passer like Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers can. His slipperiness in the pocket and his ability to take off and run only makes him more dangerous as a passer and adds to his pocket presence.

Cam Newton is Wilson’s perfect rival because he scraps his desire to be a pocket passer and plays like a running back-quarterback hybrid. Newton isn’t interested in fitting into any tradition or archetype for what a franchise quarterback should be. He just plays football and plays it well. This year, his team was unstoppable and Ron Rivera and his coaching staff finally let him fully off of his leash.

Newton’s passing stats pale in comparison to the franchise record-setting numbers Russell Wilson put up in 2015. There is no comparison in career passing stats either. Newton has a career completion percentage of 59.5 and a QB rating of 88.2. Wilson: 64.7%, 101.8. Wilson quietly led the league in QB rating this year, posting a 110.1 mark. Their rushing totals from 2015 are remarkably similar, except for one key difference. Cam Newton scored 10 rushing touchdowns in 2015. Ten! Wilson scored once on the ground. Wilson’s rushing yards come from broken plays and the occasional read-option. The Panthers’ entire red zone offense revolves around Cam Newton and his running ability.

"Russell Wilson, from the day he came to training camp as the backup in 2012, was all about helping the team."

These two young quarterbacks of color (and yes, that still matters) came from different backgrounds, received very different criticisms over their young and successful NFL careers, entered the league in very different ways, and play their common position with fundamentally different styles. Seahawks fans and others are irritated by Cam Newton’s dancing after every play (Sometimes the dancing after getting a first down is a bit much. I mean, it’s your job to get first downs, dude.), others are irritated by Wilson’s robotic demeanor. But Team Newton and Team Wilson can at least agree that the opposing player is special and capable of leading their teams to more playoff matchups in the future. And it’s going to be a fun decade of watching these two quarterbacks duel each other.

Cam Newton and Russell Wilson are giving aspiring NFL quarterbacks and a new generation of NFL viewers two opposing visions of what the league should be. I’m sure Cam Newton has worked hard to earn his teammates’ respect in his five years in the league, and I’m sure that all of his Panther teammates would go to bat for him as a leader, but he acts like a me-first player on the field. Cam loves his fans, gives touchdown balls to children, and forces opposing defenses to respond to his unique playing style. He also rides his receivers when they drop his passes and he looked like he lost his winning lottery ticket on the sidelines when the Seahawks cut the Panthers’ lead to seven a week and a half ago. In the end, he’s all about helping the team win by demanding attention and focusing on himself.

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Russell Wilson, from the day he came to training camp as the backup in 2012, was all about helping the team. I don’t doubt that Wilson cares about breaking Matt Hasselbeck’s passing record for the Seahawks, but to him, helping the team win by fitting into the culture and working within Pete Carroll’s system is his contribution. There was never a look of doubt on Wilson’s face during the Carolina game. He could only be seen firing up his teammates as he nearly pulled off an epic comeback. He wants to be a teammate who contributes to the overall goal, not a savior.

There are appealing sides to Wilson’s team-first attitude and Newton’s me-first attitude for the next generation of football fans. The NFL is such a spectacle in today’s constant media hype machine that extra performances like dabbing have become the norm and are celebrated. Russell Wilson is a throwback to a simpler time and does his dancing while nimbly avoiding defensive linemen and firing bullets down field on the run. Both perform energetically and entertain viewers in different ways.

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We as Seahawks fans are witnessing the beginning of what could be an iconic rivalry in the NFL between two contrasting players who will each have powerful and in some cases opposing influences on the league on and off the field. See you next year, Cam.

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