In two seasons, Russell Wilson has made winning in Seattle impenetrable for opposing teams.

Since the day he became the Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Wilson has never lost on his home field. That is 13 straight in the regular season. Going back even further, Wilson has not lost a home game since Oct 2, 2010 when he was at North Carolina State and the Wolfpack fell to Virginia Tech. It is a streak of 23 games since Wilson has walked off his home field with a loss.

That string as Seahawks quarterback will get tested this week his idol, New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees.

"There is no place like home. Playing here is a special moment," Wilson said. "It is one of those things that is a once in a lifetime thing. You have to make sure you go to CenturyLink and watch a game. It really is something special."

Monday night is a rousing late-season matchup between the top two teams in the NFC as the 9-2 Saints visit the 10-1 Seahawks. It is a marquee prime-time showcase that could be an NFC championship game preview and might determine who earns home-field advantage in the conference playoffs.

The home-field fight is one of many subplots:

* The teams are facing each other for the first time since the 2010 NFC divisional playoffs, when the Seahawks ended New Orleans' reign as Super Bowl champs with a surprising 41-36 upset capped by Marshawn Lynch's stunning tackle-shedding touchdown run.

* There is the Seahawks turmoil of the past week with the four-game suspension of cornerback Walter Thurmond for violation of the league's substance-abuse policy, and the potential suspension of injured cornerback Brandon Browner.

But the most intriguing aspect is a pair of quarterbacks working successfully to break long-held stereotypes about the position they play: that they are too short.

"I followed him a lot. I watched him in his college career and I remember my dad telling me I have to watch this guy, this guy is awesome," Wilson said. " ... I know everyone compares our heights and everything, the thing that I admire about him is his leadership, attention to detail, (and) competitive nature."

Wilson often gets compared to Fran Tarkenton for his ability to scramble and keep plays alive. But if there is a player he emulates, it is Brees. He was such a Brees fan, Wilson often wore a Saints hat around the Wisconsin campus during his final year of college football.

"Listen, there's plenty of things that that guy can do that I could never dream of doing athletically," Brees said.

"You watch the way he plays, you see the intensity and focus which he plays with, and he's won a lot of big games in his early career thus far. I love what he has overcome throughout his career and kind of the road he has traveled. Like I said, I couldn't have more respect for the guy."

(China Daily 12/01/2013 page7)