What's Russell Wilson got to do to get a little love?

Okay in fairness, Wilson gets plenty of love. He's get all the fun yet anti-analytical descriptors. He's a winner. He makes the right play at the right time. He won't lose you the game.

Ironically, the very praise which might have spared him past criticism now stops him from getting his proper due. A recent mini-poll among NFL writers by NFL.com illustrated that point perfectly while demonstrating how hard it is to break free from the "self-fulfilling prophecy" that is Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

The question was "is the 2012 number one overall pick Andrew Luck still the best quarterback to build your franchise around for the next decade?" Eight NFL.com scribes answered. Six came back with yes while the other's answered negative with Panther quarterback Cam Newton and Russell Wilson splitting the pair of votes.

We'll take Newton out of the discussion for our purposes and let the pair of 2012 draft mates go toe-to-toe.

The real question is "how many seasons do you need of evidence before Luck stops getting the auto-victory over Wilson?" In four years, you will find zero seasons where Luck has a better completion percentage than Wilson. In four years, you will find zero seasons where Luck has fewer interceptions than Wilson. That includes a year (2o15) where Luck played nine fewer games than Wilson. In four years, you will find exactly one season (2014) where Luck threw more touchdown passes than Russell Wilson.

There are no seasons where Luck has a better quarterback rating or QBR than Wilson.

Zero seasons exist where Luck has advanced farther in the playoffs than Wilson.

So what exactly are we talking about here?

Luck has one grand season (2014) and it was spectacular with 40 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and an AFC title game berth. Wilson has a stat-rich season (2015) too with 34 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and no title game berth but he does have two Super Bowl appearances and a win in the previous two year. Wilson's best season compared to Luck's best also saw him have a higher completion percentage by nearly seven percentage points and a higher QBR and quarterback rating by a mile.

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Still, Luck gets the benefit of the doubt. He was injured in 2015 (true). He's had fewer weapons (perhaps but really only in the run game). His defense is worse (unquestionably true but what's that have to do with his numbers). These aren't excuses; they are facts and while they speak to Luck being an impressive quarterback despite his and his team's flaws, they don't automatically make him the best young quarterback.

At some point after four years, the numbers are the numbers and you have to stop projecting things that have not occurred. This isn't a call to make Wilson's winning the only factor or be more subjective but a call to be more objective.

Men lie. Women lie. NFL.com lies. Numbers don't lie.