Commentary: Wilson vs. Rodgers is chance for the real MVP to shine

SEATTLE -- It's the ultimate opportunity next Sunday: Not just for a spot in the Super Bowl, but to compare the quarterback many consider the frontrunner for league MVP (Aaron Rodgers) to a guy who has inexplicably been left out of that conversation on a national level (Russell Wilson).

It’s a chance to put them side-by-side on the national stage; and, for the umpteenth time, show that Wilson is at that level.

It’s long past time for some knuckleheads out there to stop considering Wilson as an undersized game manager, whose success is dependent on having one of the best defenses in the game. Yes, the Hawks defense is fantastic. But the defense wasn’t the one who was 8-for-8 on third downs yesterday with a ridiculous total passer rating of 149.2. The Seahawks defense wasn’t the one making clutch touchdown throws to Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse and Luke Willson, nor was it the one finishing with zero turnovers against a tough Carolina defense.

Russell Wilson has now thrown nine touchdowns and just one interception in his first six career playoff games. That’s three more touchdowns and two fewer interceptions than Tom Brady had in his first six postseason starts.

And my favorite stat, as I first noticed from @Hawkblogger: For now at least, Wilson has the highest career postseason passer rating in NFL history - higher than even Rodgers, Bart Starr, Kurt Warner and Drew Brees. Smaller sample size, yes. But just let that sink in.

In my opinion, anyone who discounts Wilson’s 25-2 career home record at home - whose selective dismissal of the wins category in Wilson’s case because of “other factors” – needs to have his head examined.

This isn’t baseball where “wins” are considered less relevant.

This is football. And if a starting quarterback wins a lot of games, he’s likely done good things more often than not. Finding a way to win is all that matters – exactly what Wilson has done. Not to mention that while I’m not a math major, a “duel threat” is more dangerous than a single threat. Wilson’s passing yards aren’t monstrous, but solid passing numbers, combined with the most rushing yards since Michael Vick in 2006 is pretty amazing.

It’s time for national pundits to pull their heads out of the sand and put on their efficiency-colored glasses.

And if they haven’t already yet – next week, with the unanimous league MVP candidate on one side (Rodgers), and the unfortunate outsider on the other (Wilson) – they’ll get to see yet again that Russell Wilson truly belongs.