Seattle’s Russell Wilson, in just his second season in the NFL, became the second African-American quarterback to win the Super Bowl.
Wilson helped the Seahawks pummel Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Wilson joined former Washington quarterback Doug Williams in the exclusive club.
“To be the second African-American (quarterback) to win the Super Bowl, that’s history right there,” Wilson said. “There are so many guys before me who have tried to change the game and (have) done a great job at it.
“God’s so good. It doesn’t matter what you look like. It doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, Latino or Asian. It doesn’t matter if you’re 5-11. It doesn’t matter how many people tell you no. It’s the heart that you have. That’s what I try to prove every day.”
With the win, Seattle became the 19th NFL franchise to win a Super Bowl title.
The Seahawks became the first team in Super Bowl history to score a safety, touchdowns by rushing, passing and returning a kickoff and an interception. Baltimore won Super Bowl XXXV and did score touchdowns by those four methods, but they did not have a safety.
The NFC has now won four of the past five Super Bowls and leads the AFC, 26-22.
Wilson, 25 years and 65 days old, also became the third-youngest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Only Ben Roethlisberger in Super Bowl XL and Tom Brady in Super Bowl XXXVI were younger.
Those who knock Wilson as a game manager who just has to hand the ball off to running back Marshawn Lynch will have to rethink that position.
Wilson finished the game with a passer rating of 123.1, the ninth-best in Super Bowl history.
“To get the first win (Super Bowl) win franchise history, it’s unbelievable,” Wilson said. “It’s emotional to think about all the guys, the great players that have played before us. That was our thing. We wanted to say, ‘Why not us?’ We believe in that. It was for real for us.”
The rout ended a streak of six Super Bowl decided by six points or less and a streak of 10 Super Bowls decided by 12 points or less.
Manning and Denver’s high-flying passing attack, led by the veteran Manning, was thought to be too formidable for the Seahawks. But in Super Bowls between a starting quarterback with previous Super Bowl experience and one with no Super Bowl experience, the quarterback without experience has won the last four (Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers over Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger , New Orleans’ Drew Brees over Indianapolis and Manning, New York Giant’s Eli Manning over New England’s Tom Brady NE. Brady over Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb in Super Bowl XXXIX was the last experienced QB to beat a Super Bowl rookie.
The Seahawks set a Super Bowl record with 36 consecutive points to start a game.
The previous mark was 24, which was done twice, by the Redskins in Super Bowl XXVI against the Bills and by the Dolphins in Super Bowl VIII against Minnesota.
There have been longer runs of consecutive points within other Super Bowls, including 44 in a row by the Bears in their 46-10 win over New England in Super Bowl XX.
Wilson was selected in the third-round (75th overall) of the 2012 draft.
He completed 18 of 25 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed three times for 26 yards.
In addition to Williams and McNabb, Tennessee’s Steve McNair is the other African-American quarterback to reach the Super Bowl.
“I believe in myself,” Wilson said. “My confidence was never going to waiver. For me, I just needed the opportunity.”
About the Author
