Russell Wilson’s 12 Interceptions in 2014

In my previous article we took a look at Russell Wilson’s 33 Touchdowns during the 2014 regular and postseason. In this article we will take a look at the opposite side of the spectrum with his 12 interceptions that ultimately led to the downfall of the Seahawks versus the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Stats
Regular Season - 285/452 (63.1%), 3,475 yards, 7.7 y/a, 20 TDs, 7 INTs, 118 rushes for 849 yards and 6 TDs
Postseason - 41/72 (56.9%), 724 yards, 10.1 y/a, 6 TDs, 5 INTs, 17 rushes for 86 yards and 1 TDs
Note: Play numbers correspond to plays found here in the GIF Database.

First let’s take a look at the intended targets of Wilson’s 12 interceptions during the 2014 season:

Receiver Breakdown

Jermaine Kearse	4
Doug Baldwin	2
Paul Richardson	2
Ricardo Lockette	1
Marshawn Lynch	1
Percy Harvin	1
Luke Willson	1

 

Quarter Breakdown

1st Quarter	2
2nd Quarter	5
3rd Quarter	1
4th Quarter	4

 

Down Breakdown

1st Down	5
2nd Down	1
3rd Down	6
4th Down	0

 

Distance Breakdown

Fewer than 6 Yards	3
Between 6 and 15 yards	4
More than 15 yards	5

 

Location Breakdown

Deep Left	Deep Middle	Deep Right
2	3	0
Intermediate Left	Intermediate Middle	Intermediate Right
0	1	3
Short Left	Short Middle	Short Right
1	0	2

 

Route Breakdown

Post	2
Corner	2
Slant/Drag	2
Dig/In	2
Angle	1
Seam	1
Hitch	1
Out	1

 

Play 1
Situation: 1st and 10 at SEA 14
Description: Q4 - (11:12) R.Wilson pass deep right intended for P.Harvin INTERCEPTED by C.Harris (A.Talib) at SEA 32. C.Harris to SEA 19 for 13 yards (P.Harvin).
Opponent: 3. DEN

Offensive Formation: Singleback Slot Right
Offensive Personnel: 11
Defensive Formation: Cover 2

Wilson in shtogun takes the snap and looks to WR11 Harvin on the out the route. The Broncos are playing Cover 2 with 5 underneath zone defenders across the board. The interesting thing about the Broncos coverage is that they are actually playing what’s called man-zone coverage, which is where you initially fake playing man coverage and then drop into your respective zones. This is evidenced by CB21 Talib playing man-to-man coverage and then allowing his receiver to slip into the deep secondary for his safety to cover him while taking the underneath route. Wilson read this as Cover 2 with pure man-to-man coverage where he though Harvin was breaking free underneath WR10 Richardson running the go-route up the sideline.

In this interception, I give credit to Talib for deflecting the ball into the air and realizing that Harvin was attempting to come underneath him from the outside. It’s difficult for me to blame Wilson for missing the underneath zone defender when Talib wasn’t even in his zone yet and Wilson thought he had Harvin breaking on the out route from the slot right position. So overall, I give the credit to a great defensive stop by the defense here.

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Play 2
Situation: 1st and 10 at SEA 25
Description: Q4 - (:48) (No Huddle, Shotgun) R.Wilson pass deep middle intended for L.Willson INTERCEPTED by R.McClain at DAL 48. R.McClain to DAL 48 for no gain (L.Willson).
Opponent: 6. DAL

Offensive Formation: Shotgun Slot Right Far
Offensive Personnel: 11
Defensive Formation: Cover 2

The Cowboys are in Tampa 2 defense where the inside linebacker drops with the tight end on the seam route over the middle of the field. Wilson attempts to feed it to him over LB McClain, but McClain is able to locate the ball in the air and intercept it for the Cowboys’ defense. This interception falls on Wilson as TE82 L.Willson was covered the whole play.

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Play 3
Situation: 3rd and 7 at CAR 7
Description: Q2 - (:25) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass short left intended for M.Lynch INTERCEPTED by J.Norman at CAR -1. J.Norman to CAR 26 for 27 yards (L.Willson).
Opponent: 8. CAR

Offensive Formation: Shotgun Twin Stacks Left/Right
Offensive Personnel: 11
Defensive Formation: Goalline Cover 3 - 5 Zone Defenders - “Fire Zone” Concept

The Panthers are in Goalline Cover 3 with 5 underneath zone defenders. Once the twin stacks on the left side of the field drag the underneath zone defenders into the endzone, RB24 Lynch is open underneath on his angle route. Wilson rockets the ball to Lynch and it deflects right into the hands of CB24 Norman. Wilson made an excellent read and throw here, but Lynch HAS to hang onto the ball if it hits you right into the hands. Sure the ball was sightly high and in front of him and that’s something Wilson needs to throw more accurately at here, but Lynch should have made the catch. This interception is on Lynch.

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Play 4
Situation: 1st and 10 at SEA 18
Description: Q1 - (6:16) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass short right intended for P.Richardson INTERCEPTED by Z.Bowman [J.Hankins] at SEA 31. Z.Bowman to SEA 24 for 7 yards (P.Richardson).
Opponent: 10. NYG

Offensive Formation: Shotgun Slot Left Near
Offensive Personnel: 11
Defensive Formation: Cover 1

From shotgun, Wilson attempts to pass to WR10 Richardson on a hitch route from the right outside. Wilson leaves the ball behind and inside of Richardson allowing CB31 Bowman to come back to the ball for the pick. This interception is completely on Wilson. The hitch route is covered and he needs to place the ball outside and away from the defender who is playing inside technique on Richardson. Additionally, this is a timing pass that is thrown with horrible anticipation. This ball needs to be out a solid second earlier to make sure his receiver is the first at it.

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Play 5
Situation: 3rd and 5 at NYG 44
Description: Q3 - (12:11) (Shotgun) G.Gilliam reported in as eligible. R.Wilson pass deep left intended for D.Baldwin INTERCEPTED by Q.Demps at NYG 10. Q.Demps to NYG 10 for no gain (D.Baldwin).
Opponent: 10. NYG

Offensive Formation: Empty-Set Shotgun Slot Right Twin TE
Offensive Personnel: 02
Defensive Formation: Cover 2

This play is a smash concept meant to attack Cover 2 zone defenses with the underneath hitch route and corner route from the slot receiver. Wilson from shotgun attempts to pass to WR89 Baldwin on the corner route, but he leaves the ball too far inside allowing FS35 Demps a chance at the ball. Demps jumps up and shields out Baldwin for the pick. This interception is on Wilson. The decision to throw the ball to Baldwin is actually correct. It’s just the ball placement was not in the correct position. This ball needs to be 3-5 yards further to the left. If you watch Baldwin’s stem of his route he takes it inside and then cuts outside. This is meant to open up the left side of the field and pull Demps out of position. Baldwin actually does a good job of this.

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Play 6
Situation: 3rd and 10 at SF 29
Description: Q2 - (:08) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass deep middle intended for D.Baldwin INTERCEPTED by E.Reid at SF 3. E.Reid to SEA 24 for 73 yards (R.Turbin).
Opponent: 15. SF

Offensive Formation: Shotgun Spread Formation
Offensive Personnel: 10
Defensive Formation: Cover 4

Wilson attempts to pass the ball to WR89 Baldwin on a post route underneath the 49ers’ deep Cover 4 defense in between FS35 Reid and LB57 Wilhoite. Wilson simply puts too much velocity on the ball and overthrows his intended target leading to the interception.

Article continues on the next page.

Play 7
Situation: 3rd and 8 at STL 42
Description: Q2 - (9:40) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass deep middle intended for P.Richardson INTERCEPTED by M.Roberson [R.Quinn] at SL 22. M.Roberson to SL 40 for 18 yards (K.Norwood).
Opponent: 17. STL

Offensive Formation: Shotgun Twin Bunch Right Far
Offensive Personnel: 11
Defensive Formation: Cover 1

In this play, Wilson immediately feels the pressure after snapping the ball and goes into evasion-mode spinning around in the backfield and then finding a seam to his right to escape the pocket. Once Wilson escapes the pocket he still has a defender behind him and in front of him ready to pounce, but he releases the ball to WR10 Richardson breaking across the field. Wilson throws the ball right before he gets hit to the ground but puts too much on it overthrowing his target right into the hands of CB47 Roberson.

The obvious part of this play is that Wilson overthrew the ball, but look at the play situationally. The offensive line breaks down immediately forcing Wilson to abandon his reads and scramble for safety. Even when he escapes the pocket he still keeps his eyes downfield to locate an open receiver to pass the ball to. Say this was a completion instead of an interception if Wilson threw the ball slightly lower. This would have been an INCREDIBLE play by Wilson. Instead it’s the opposite. I mostly blame the offensive line here as without Wilson’s elusiveness this would have been an immediate sack for the most quarterbacks in the league. I do partially blame Wilson for overthrowing the ball, but situationally it was his offensive line that screwed up the pass protection to put him in this situation to begin with.

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Play 8
Situation: 3rd and 7 at SEA 23
Description: Q1 - (10:37) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass short middle intended for J.Kearse INTERCEPTED by H.Clinton-Dix at SEA 30. H.Clinton-Dix pushed ob at SEA 4 for 26 yards (J.Sweezy). PENALTY on GB-M.Daniels, Taunting, 15 yards, enforced at SEA 4.
Opponent: 20. GB

Offensive Formation: Empty-Set Shotgun Trips Left
Offensive Personnel: 11 (Lynch is lining up as a WR on the left outside)
Defensive Formation: Cover 1 Robber, man-to-man coverage across the board

Wilson in shotgun pre-snap reads a defender directly over WR15 Kearse and a defender at the line of scrimmage over his slot right wide receiver. This same lineup is mirrored on the opposite side of the field, but the main difference is that there are three wide receivers as opposed to only two. This means that either the Packers at double-covering the slot receiver, the Packers could drop the defender in off-man coverage into zone, or they could blitz the cornerback at the line of scrimmage. The Packers choose the latter, which means that the slot receiver is against off-man coverage.

Kearse runs an in-route and it’s well covered. Maybe Wilson thought that the blitz was coming but the Packers were playing zone coverage on the right outside, but regardless he takes the snap and delivers an accurate pass to Kearse. Unfortunately due to the slippery conditions and the excellent coverage, the ball bounces off of his hands and falls right into FS21 Clinton-Dix’s hands for an interception who was playing robber over the middle of the field. Not a good start.

I don’t blame Wilson for this throw. Typically the worst case scenario for this throw is a quick incompletion and on 3rd and 7 the Seahawks were hoping this designed interference play with the slot right receiver would open up the field underneath. Good defensive call by the Packers.

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Play 9
Situation: 1st and 10 at SEA 20
Description: Q2 - (9:37) R.Wilson pass deep middle intended for J.Kearse INTERCEPTED by H.Clinton-Dix at GB 32. H.Clinton-Dix to SEA 41 for 27 yards (J.Kearse). PENALTY on GB-C.Matthews, Illegal Blindside Block, 15 yards, enforced at SEA 41.
Opponent: 20. GB

Offensive Formation: Big I-formation Left
Offensive Personnel: 22
Defensive Formation: Cover 1

In this play, Wilson attempts to throw the deep post route to WR15 Kearse on 1st down, but the ball is intercepted beautifully by FS21 Clinton-Dix.

Wilson attempts to look off Clinton-Dix, but he isn’t fooled, so he returns to deep safety help on Kearse. Before Wilson releases the ball, what you’ll notice is that Kearse does not have any separation on this play. CB38 Williams does an excellent job staying with Kearse the entire play, but Kearse has inside leverage over Williams. This means that if Wilson can lead Kearse and place it past Clinton-Dix it has a chance of becoming a deep play.

Unfortunately, Wilson underthrows the ball and Clinton-Dix makes an excellent one-armed interception on the ball. If you are going to miss this throw, you HAVE to throw it deep seeing as Clinton-Dix was in-front of Kearse’s path. This seemed to be a common theme for Wilson throughout his 2014 season as he continued to struggle with underthrowing deep passes.

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Play 10
Situation: 3rd and 8 at GB 18
Description: Q2 - (2:00) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass deep left intended for J.Kearse INTERCEPTED by S.Shields at GB 0. Touchback.
Opponent: 20. GB

Offensive Formation: Empty-set Shotgun Double Wing
Offensive Personnel: 11 (Lynch lines up as the left outside WR)
Defensive Formation: Cover 1 Robber, man-to-man coverage across the board

It’s 3rd and 8 with 2:00 minutes left in the first half. Wilson has WR15 Kearse in the left slot running a corner route to the endzone. The two wide receivers are running what’s a called a “Smash Concept”. Where the outside WR runs a short hitch and the slot receiver runs a corner route. This is meant to attack zone coverage, by flooding the left outside zones or to attack bump-and-run coverage on the slot receiver if the defense is in man-to-man coverage like they are in this play.

Wilson takes the snap and immediately looks for the corner route. He lobs the ball into the air trying to give Kearse a chance at the ball, but Wilson places the ball too far to the inside of Kearse allowing CB37 Shields a chance at the ball. After Kearse cuts outside, you’ll notice that Shields turns his head and watches Wilson the entire play looking for the ball. This is amazing awareness and coverage.

The other option in this play would have been to go to the quick-in route on the right side of the field, but it might not have gotten the Seahawks a first down based on the underneath coverage of the safety playing robber. If Wilson wants to make this throw, he has to place it further outside to give his wide receiver a chance at the ball and make sure the defender can’t play it.

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Play 11
Situation: 1st and 10 at SEA 46
Description: Q4 - (5:13) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass short middle intended for J.Kearse INTERCEPTED by M.Burnett at GB 39. M.Burnett to GB 43 for 4 yards. Went down on his own.
Opponent: 20. GB

Offensive Formation: Shotgun Trips Right Near
Offensive Personnel: 11
Defensive Formation: Cover 1 Robber, Man-to-man across the board

In this play, Wilson targets Kearse who is in the middle of the trips right running a deep-in route over the middle of the field. Wilson takes the snap and throws a bullet right into the diving arms of Kearse who lays out for the ball. CB33 Hyde is right on the tail of Kearse. The ball was well-placed, but it again bounces off of Kearse’s hands straight into the air for SS42 Burnett to intercept it.

Breaking down Wilson’s mechanics on this play, his footwork isn’t the best as he drifts backwards as he is releasing the ball. He gets good velocity on the throw, but he needs to release this ball with more anticipation. The ball should have been released a full second earlier right as Kearse was about to start making the cut down the field, which would have given Kearse more separation on the play. Like Play 8, this is another play where you typically don’t see the ball pop straight up for the defense that usually results in an incompletion and nothing more.

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Play 12
Situation: 2nd and 1 at NE 1
Description: Q4 - (:26) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass short right intended for R.Lockette INTERCEPTED by M.Butler at NE -1. M.Butler to NE 2 for 3 yards (R.Lockette). PENALTY on NE, Unsportsmanlike Conduct, 1 yard, enforced at NE 2.
Opponent: 21. NE

Offensive Formation: Shotgun Twins Stack Right Near
Offensive Personnel: 11 (1 RB – Lynch, 1 TE – Willson, 3 WR – Lockette, Kearse, Baldwin)
Defensive Formation: Cover 1, Man-to-man coverage across the board

I analyzed this play in DEEP detail immediately after the Super Bowl. If you would like a detailed explanation of how Browner helped free Butler to intercept Wilson’s pass please click here.

Overall, I have Wilson to directly blame for five of his twelve interceptions during the 2014 season with about three to four of the interceptions on both Wilson and either the receiver or the defense making a great play. There were multiple times where Wilson chose the correct receiver, but the ball either hit the hands of his intended target or Wilson simply overthrew him on the underneath routes or left the ball short on the deep routes. These are things that Wilson needs to fix and actually looked better as the season progressed. For all of Wilson’s touchdowns during the 2014 season (click here).

Click here to see all of Wilson’s plays in the GIF Database.