SEATTLE (AP) – Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin and the Seattle Seahawks are headed to the playoffs for the fourth straight season, thanks to an offense that can’t be stopped lately.
Wilson threw three touchdown passes, two to Baldwin, and the Seahawks clinched a playoff spot with a 30-13 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Again, it was largely behind the play of Wilson, who put together another elite performance in a week where Cleveland coach Mike Pettine stirred debate by saying Wilson wasn’t in the top tier of NFL quarterbacks. Wilson completed 21 of 30 passes for 249 yards and became the first quarterback with three of more TD passes and no interceptions in five straight games, although he was nearly picked off at the goal line by Tramon Williams in the closing minutes.
Right behind Wilson in the record book was Baldwin, thanks to his touchdown catches of 6 and 3 yards. Baldwin joined Jerry Rice as the only wide receivers to have 10 touchdown catches in a four-game span in the same season. Rice had 10 TD catches from a combo of Joe Montana and Steve Young during the 1987 season. Baldwin has grabbed all 10 from Wilson.
Baldwin also became the third wide receiver since 1960 with four straight games with multiple TD catches joining Calvin Johnson in 2011 and Cris Carter in 1995, and matched Daryl Turner’s single-season franchise record of 13 TD catches.