⏰ This Is Russell Wilson’s Moment

The Seattle Seahawks still face a tricky road to the postseason ... but their quarterback is their not-so-secret weapon. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: The Seahawks may be the most dangerous team still in the playoff hunt ... Luka Doncic shows off his impressive language skills in Mexico City ... and the United States attempts to win a raucous Presidents Cup. The Seattle Seahawks have the fate of the season within their own hands, which means to say — as this is 2019 — that it is in the hands of Russell Wilson. It has been a slightly peculiar season for the Seahawks: second in their division, escapees from a number of close shaves, coming off a heavy loss to the Los Angeles Rams, yet still with the opportunity to be a high seed in the NFC within their grasp. The days of catchy nicknames and branded success are no more. The vaunted Legion of Boom secondary and Marshawn Lynch’s Beast Mode charges are consigned to team history. If Seattle is going to conjure something special out of this year, it’s going to be primarily thanks to the mercurial talents of Wilson, perhaps the only meaningful challenger to Lamar Jackson’s grip on the MVP race. Sunday’s visit to the Carolina Panthers (FOX, 1 p.m. ET) might as well be the start of the postseason for the Seahawks. Three victories to close out the regular season would ensure top spot in the NFC West, undoubtedly football’s toughest and most competitive division this season. That’s because one of those final victories would need to be against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17, which is already shaping up as an epic encounter between two teams with long history and little time for each other. Wilson has been delivering since the start of the campaign. He’s tied for the second-most passing touchdowns (26) in the league against just five interceptions, has a 107.5 passer rating and has thrown for 3,422 yards. Now he knows it’s time to step things up even further. “We’ve got a three-game push right here and are looking forward to that opportunity,” Wilson said on Thursday. “We’re ready to roll and are looking forward to finding ways to win, get into the playoffs, hopefully, and go a long way. “We went on a five-game winning streak. Hopefully we can go on a five-, six-, seven-game win streak now. Each game has a history to itself; hopefully we can find a way to play great in this game, let that add up for the next one.” [STORY IMAGE 1] This is a different Seattle team than the one that went all the way in 2013-14, back when Wilson was a second-year breakout star earning $526,217, partly because no one was sure at the end of his college career if he was more devoted to baseball or football. There are some weeks when it looks like the Seattle defense is getting things together, but a Legion of Boom this is not, and the ghosts of Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and company still hang over the secondary whenever things go wrong and fans remember what once was. Wilson has led the team to an NFL-high five game-winning drives, including nailbiters against the likes of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when he made all the difference. His throw to D.K. Metcalf to clinch victory in that game was lofted into an impossibly tight window and provided highlight reel fodder. His late-game heroics have helped Seattle tilt possible defeats into victories enough times that they are 10-3 despite scoring only 20 more total points than they have conceded. And, if not for an overtime squeak past the 49ers on Nov. 11, San Francisco would be off over the horizon atop the NFC West. No one, however, is sleeping on Seattle. “They’re the biggest threat in the NFC,” 49ers legend Jerry Rice told ESPN. “Seattle is going to be hard to deal with because of Russell Wilson and the way this guy can assess what happens down the field. He can expand plays and he’s still got great vision downfield.” Wilson is an eighth-year veteran now, but according to him he is not even halfway through his career. He once said he wished to play until the age of 43, then amended that to 45, perhaps after seeing Tom Brady’s prolonged productivity. He spends large amounts of his own money on keeping himself in optimum shape, with a full-time team that includes a mental conditioning coach, a trainer, a physical therapist, a massage therapist, a yoga instructor and a chef. [STORY IMAGE 2] The juggernaut-like traits of the Baltimore Ravens and Jackson’s continued brilliance have been significant in that it is the fleet-footed youngster who is overwhelming the MVP chatter, but while the Ravens QB’s record-breaking season seems to be literally running away with the award, Wilson will likely get a not-insignificant number of votes. “Here is how great (Wilson) has been,” Nick Wright said on First Things First last month. “Whenever he makes a mistake, it is shocking to us.” The Panthers have lost five straight and blown their own chances of reaching the playoffs, yet Seattle has no margin for error between now and the end of the season. Few are discussing them as a leading Super Bowl contender; there are far flashier campaigns out there, like those of the Ravens or 49ers. [FiveThirtyEight]( gives them a 36 percent chance of winning the division and a 4 percent shot at winning a championship. [FOX Bet]( meanwhile, gives them a punchers’ chance to win the West, at +165 to the Niners’ -225. The Seahawks have the sixth-best odds to win the Super Bowl this season, at +1300 — a far cry from the Ravens, at +235. Yet the Seahawks can be as dangerous as any. Don’t sleep on Wilson’s smarts. And hey, if the Seahawks land up with home field advantage, the noise of CenturyLink Field doubles their postseason danger. Wilson no longer has that epic defense or Lynch’s ferocious brawn beside him, but he’s more resilient than ever, and when he claims he likes his chances, you tend to believe him. “Everything that we want is ahead of us,” he said. [STORY IMAGE 3] Here’s what others have said ... Robert O’Connell, The Atlantic: “Like Jackson’s, Wilson’s numbers sparkle. Also like Jackson’s, Wilson’s numbers fail to get at the weekly experience of watching him. In an overtime win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in November, Wilson set up the winning touchdown with a 29-yard throw down the sideline to a receiver who couldn’t have been less open. The next week, Wilson broke out of the pocket and ran 18 yards to push the Seahawks in range for the winning field goal. The now-routine performance — Wilson has a league-best five game-winning drives on the year — amount to an argument. Tactics get you so far, but talent wins out when it matters most.” Bob Condotta, The Seattle Times: “And though Jackson might be hard to beat out for the award, any votes he doesn’t get would almost certainly go to Wilson, who has never before received an NFL MVP vote but is in the midst of an MVP-worthy season. He’s tied with Jackson with 24 touchdown passes and has thrown just three interceptions, the third-lowest interception percentage in the league, while having led four fourth-quarter comebacks and five game-winning drives, both the most in the NFL. Also, just think where Seattle’s season would be without Wilson — 6-5 or 5-6 instead of 9-2?” Brady Henderson, ESPN: “Wilson's initial goal was to play until he was 43. That number had significance because it would mean a 20-year career, just like his idol, Derek Jeter. Wilson has since bumped it up to 45, a goal he reiterated on his 31st birthday last month. That would make him the oldest quarterback to ever start an NFL game. Warren Moon, Vinny Testaverde and Steve DeBerg were all 44 when they made their final starts. Seeing Tom Brady win a Super Bowl after age 40 has reinforced Wilson's belief that playing until 45 is realistic.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Adam Kramer at Bleacher Report would like to [introduce you to Bijan Robinson]( the record-breaking running back recruit who could save Texas football. - Life after Zlatan: Felipe Cardenas at The Athletic talks to Guillermo Barros Scheletto about [how the manager will reshape the Los Angeles Galaxy](. - Chaos is reigning in college hoops this year. Molly Geary at Sports Illustrated takes a look at [why offensive efficiency (or lack thereof) is leaving teams vulnerable](. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Here’s something you may not know about Luka Doncic, the 20-year-old NBA sensation from Slovenia: he’s fluent in Spanish. The second-year Mavericks star spent three years playing for Real Madrid in the Spanish League, and on Thursday night he got a chance to dust off his perfect Spanish in front of a Mexico City crowd prior to the Mavs vs. Pistons tipping off as part of the league’s Mexico City series. The crowd obviously loves it. Unfortunately for the Pistons’ Blake Griffin, he had to follow that opening act. At least he tried his best! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] WWE Friday Night SmackDown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) Two days before WWE TLC 2019, Roman Reigns will seek revenge on King Corbin for humiliating him last week. And what will happen next between Bray Wyatt and The Miz? Army vs. No. 23 Navy (CBS, Saturday, 3 p.m. ET) The only college football game this week is the annual Army-Navy game, the long-running annual installment of their rivalry matchup. Nationally-ranked Navy will try to snap its current three-year losing streak in the big game. Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers (FOX, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET) The Packers will try to improve on their 10-3 record and stay undefeated within the NFC North. The Bears, meanwhile, are still angling for a potential Wild Card berth. Los Angeles Rams at Dallas Cowboys (FOX, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET) Perhaps the most closely-watched game of Week 15 will be the afternoon tilt between the Rams — who have won three of their last four — and the Cowboys, who are still battling to make the postseason. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( USA to win the 2019 Presidents Cup: +130 The Presidents Cup tournament will come to an end on Sunday with 12 single matches, and Team USA has been on shaky ground in the early going. Still, Tiger Woods has been playing extremely well this week. Woods, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Patrick Cantlay, and Xander Shauffele have helped the United States deliver some of the most compelling and thrilling golf of the year, and while the Internationals led by Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen are currently the favorites to win, it should be a wild ride over the weekend. [WHAT THEY SAID] "Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't." — Jerry Rice [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download the FOX Sports app for live scores and streaming [App Store]( [Google Play]( Available on: [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] Forwarded this message? [Sign up](. Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2019 FOX Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. 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