National Football League

Wilson Bests Belichick Again

Published Sep. 21, 2020 12:11 a.m. ET

What. A. Game.

The Seattle Seahawks eked out a victory over Bill Belichick, Cam Newton the New England Patriots on Sunday night, 35-30.

Here are the key takeaways from Sunday night's thriller in Seattle:

1. Belichick can't contain Wilson

Before his Patriots took on Seattle, Bill Belichick had some high praise for Seahawks QB Russell Wilson earlier this week.

Wilson proved Belichick correct on Sunday.

Wilson is now 3-1 against the Patriots, and Sunday might have been his best performance against master defensive-mind Belichick.

In four career games against the Patriots, Wilson is now 74-for-113 passing (65.5 completion percentage) for 1,176 yards, 13 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

2. Super Cam is back

It took an incredible effort from Wilson to overcome a vintage performance from Cam Newton on Sunday night.

Newton was unreal against the Seahawks, completing 30-of-44 passes for 397 yards and a TD, and rushing 11 times for 47 yards and 2 TDs.

With 1:49 left, Seattle punted the ball to the New England 19-yard line, giving Cam one last opportunity to pull off the victory.

And boy, did he almost make the most of that opportunity.

Newton used his arm and legs to carry the Pats all the way down to the Seattle 1-yard line with 3 seconds left.

It took a gargantuan effort from the Seattle defense – which Newton had carved up most of the night – to seal the win for the Seahawks.

3. MVP race on display

Wilson and Newton put on a quarterback duel for the ages, with both veteran QBs throwing haymakers throughout the night and staking their claims as early MVP favorites.

Through the first two weeks, Wilson has been unstoppable.

In fact, he's essentially the new-age John Elway – if you compare the two in the context of Bill Belichick.

On the other side of the ball Sunday was Newton, who missed 14 games last season but doesn't look like he's skipped a beat.

And while Lamar Jackson is the reigning MVP and a nightmare for defenses to stop when he decides to scamper, Newton is officially the greatest scoring threat from the quarterback position on the ground as of Sunday.