Russell Wilson Takes Giant Leap in New Power Rankings Poll

Had the New York Giants won their Week 2 contest against the Dallas Cowboys, quarterback Russell Wilson might very well have earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his 30-of-41 for 450 yards and three touchdown performance.

Alas, Wilson also had a backbreaking interception in overtime that gave the Cowboys a final chance to steal the game, which they did. Still, in a new power poll rankings of quarterbacks by CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin, Wilson jumped up nine spots from the prior week (No. 32) to No. 23 on the list.

The nine-spot jump tied Wilson with Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and was one less spot behind former Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, now with the Colts. Wilson landed just above rookie quarterback Cam Ward of the Tennessee Titans and a spot behind Houston Texans' second-year starter C.J. Stroud.

"After a totally flat debut in blue, Wilson turned into a showman of old against a gross Cowboys defense, launching one Malik Nabers bomb after another,” Benjamin said.

“Unfortunately, the magic didn't last until the buzzer thanks to his last deep shot."

Per Pro Football Focus, Wilson's overtime interception was one of his two turnover-worthy plays.

However, he also made six big-time throws to mostly offset the negative with beneficial positives. The aerial display consisted of three touchdown passes covering at least 29 yards.

Not bad for a quarterback who, according to NFL Pro, has been pressured on 41.1% of his dropbacks, the sixth-highest rate in the league

Despite Wilson's meteoric rise up the rankings, his standing being just outside the top-20 is somewhat puzzling as Week 3 play begins. Sam Darnold and Trevor Lawrence rose multiple spots on the rankings despite posting inconsistent individual stats in their respective Week 2 victories.

Lawrence outperformed Darnold, matching Wilson in touchdown passes, against the Cincinnati Bengals. Still, he threw for fewer yards than Wilson and Darnold while tossing two interceptions and posting a completion percentage of 57.1.

Darnold threw for nearly 300 yards and posted two touchdown passes in his Week 2 performance versus a surprisingly porous Pittsburgh Steelers defense.

However, he handed out two interceptions and leaned on the 100-yard rushing performance of Kenneth Walker III to pull away from the Steelers in the second half.

In fact, both Darnold and Lawrence had the support of promising run games that helped their offense move the ball effectively despite their respective wavering performances.

The Giants had a semi-breakout game from rookie running back Cam Skattebo, with 11 carries for 45 yards and a touchdown, but Wilson needed to throw 50 yards shy of 500 yards passing to give his offense a chance to keep up with the Cowboys' 40-point clinic.

Wilson, at least slotting himself inside the top-20 of Benjamin's ranking, would've been fair. Geno Smith, Michael Penix, and Caleb Williams also didn't have better Week 2 outings than Russell Wilson, but they were at least better than Wilson’s Week 1 outing, unlike Darnold and Lawrence.

It'll be a challenge for the 13-year veteran to match his high-level play in the Giants' home opener in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs, who held the Eagles' passing attack to under 110 yards through the air and kept running back Saquon Barkley under 100 yards rushing (22 carries, 88 rushing yards, one touchdown) last week.

However, if Wilson can post an efficient 250-300-yard passing performance with multiple touchdowns this weekend, it's fair to assume he'll rise even higher on Benjamin's list in the coming week.

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