Wilson gets going for Hawks
ST. LOUIS – Knowing how much success Nate Burleson has had returning kicks against St. Louis, rookie Josh Wilson made a little promise to give his teammate the ball anytime a kickoff went his direction Sunday afternoon.
But when it did, and Wilson hesitated at the 11-yard line while Burleson ran up behind him, one word nixed that plan.
“Nate just told me, ‘Go!’ ” Wilson said after Sunday’s 24-19 win over the St. Louis Rams. “I acted like Forrest Gump: I just went.”
And went. And went.
Wilson kept running toward the left sideline, past a diving kicker, back across the field, and – finally – into the end zone. The rookie’s coast-to-coast run not only marked the first touchdown of his NFL career but also the third return touchdown by the Seahawks in their past three meetings with St. Louis.
“We’ve had some success against the Rams, so we were confident that maybe someone could make a big play,” Burleson said. “And Josh did just that. He stole the ball, and once I saw the hole open up, I knew he was going to score because he runs so fast.”
Wilson and Burleson often stand deep together on kickoffs, but the rookie is usually the one to step forward as a blocker when the ball is kicked. Because St. Louis kicker Jeff Wilkins booted a high, short ball, Wilson was the one to catch it.
“He’s just as explosive as me, so I said, let’s not waste time figuring out who’s ball it is. ‘Just go!’ ” Burleson recalled. “And he did it. He’s done stuff like that before. We always knew he had that ability. But now people can see it on film.”
Said Wilson: “We had a little confusion, but it worked out for the best.”
Wilson squirted through a hole in the coverage and sprinted toward the left sideline. He somehow skipped by Wilkins while tiptoeing the sideline, then regained his balance to make another move inside at the St. Louis 25. With two blockers in front of him, Wilson found another seam and cut across field, almost running out of gas as he avoided one last tackler near the 5 and snuck into the end zone.
“When we got to the 20, I saw that I had a blocker in front of me,” he said. “Then I cut back, and I had another blocker in front of me. It was a great feeling, getting in the end zone like that.”
Wilson’s touchdown was one of the few highlights of the first half Sunday. The Seahawks had fallen behind 9-0 on Steven Jackson’s 53-yard touchdown run when he took the field for the kickoff. Wilson scored the Seahawks’ only touchdown of the first half.
It also marked the third consecutive game in which Seattle has scored a return touchdown against the Rams. Burleson took a punt 90 yards for a touchdown in Nov. 2006, then added a 91-yard kickoff return in a win over St. Louis last month.
On Sunday, it was Wilson’s turn.