porky88
  • porky88
  • Veteran Member Topic Starter
10 years ago
The quest for a repeat is alive and well.

The Seattle Seahawks overcame a 16-points halftime deficit to stun the Green Bay Packers in front of a rowdy crowd at CenturyLink Field. The victory sends Seattle to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season, making them the first NFC team to go to back-to-back Super Bowls since the Packers did it in 1996-97.

An abnormal journey gave us the expected outcome. Turnovers allowed Green Bay to jump out to an early lead. The Packers intercepted quarterback Russell Wilson three times in the first half, but their inability to finish in the red zone kept Seattle in the hunt. Green Bay made three trips to the red zone, scoring just one touchdown and settling for two field goals. Early in the first quarter, the Packers faced a fourth and goal from the one-yard line. Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy opted to kick the field goal instead of going for the touchdown. McCarthy’s decision to kick will receive its share of scrutiny this week, but the Packers didn’t blow a 16-point lead because they didn’t go for a touchdown six minutes into the game. They lost because Seattle made the key second-half plays.

In my preview  of this game, I picked Seattle because I thought they’d make the big play in crunch time. The Seahawks needed more than just a big play or two, though. Nearly everything had to go their way in the second half, and that’s exactly what happened.

They converted a key third-and-19 midway through the third quarter when Wilson found a wide-open Doug Baldwin. Four plays later, they scored a 19-yard touchdown on a fake field goal when holder Jon Ryan hit Clint Gresham for the score. After cutting Green Bay’s lead to 19-14 in the fourth quarter, they recovered an onside kick after Green Bay tight end Brandon Bostick failed to secure the ball. This led to Seattle taking their first lead of the game with less than two minutes remaining. Green Bay managed to force overtime, but the Packers never saw the ball in the extended period, as Wilson hit Jermaine Kearse for a 35-yard touchdown to send the Seahawks to the Super Bowl.

In many ways, the Packers blew it more than Seattle won it. Green Bay mishandled two crucial plays late in the game. Wilson threw his fourth interception of the game with about five minutes remaining. Safety Morgan Burnett, who caught the ball off a deflection, went to the ground immediately after making the play. You don't go to the ground with five minutes left, and Burnett just learned this lesson the hardest of ways. He had a lot of open field to gain yards. A decent return would've put the Packers in field goal range.

Burnett’s running mate in the secondary, rookie Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, had a pair of interceptions on the afternoon, but his judgment on Seattle’s two-point conversion was bizarre. The Packers heavily pressured Wilson on the attempt. He scrambled to his right before throwing the ball across the field. The ball lingered in the air long enough for Clinton-Dix to make a play on it, but he never did. Instead, it landed safety in the arms of tight end Luke Wilson, and Seattle’s improbable lead extended to three.

With less than two minutes remaining, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers drove the Packers down the field, putting them in position to tie the game. Kicker Mason Crosby connected on a 48-yard field goal, sending the game to overtime. Had Clinton-Dix made a better play on the ball just minutes earlier, Crosby’s kick may have sent the Packers to the Super Bowl.

Wilson is now 10-0 against Super Bowl winning quarterbacks, owning wins over Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Eli and Peyton Manning. However, Wilson was not the hero of this game. Sure, he made two crucial overtime throws, but Green Bay clearly rattled him early. Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell recognized this, and turned to running back Marshawn Lynch.

In a performance that’ll surely come up when the Hall of Fame debates Lynch’s candidacy for enshrinement, the Seattle running back steamrolled his way through the heart of Green Bay’s defense. He finished the game with 25 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown.

Seattle’s defensive effort also deserves commendation. Green Bay’s early start had more to do with their field position advantage than their execution against the Seahawks defense. The Packers gained just 306 total yards, with Rodgers throwing for 178 on just 19 completions. Running back Eddie Lacy, who had 100 or more yards in 10 consecutive games, gained just 73 on 21 carries.

The Packers return to Green Bay devastated. They were less than five minutes away from reaching their sixth Super Bowl. Losing in Seattle goes down as one of the most excruciating defeats in the franchise’s history, arguably more so than Super Bowl XXXII and the 2007 NFC Championship.

History awaits Seattle two weeks from now. With a victory, they’ll be just the eighth team in the history of the NFL to win back-to-back Super Bowls, and the first to do so since the 2003-04 New England Patriots.

They’ll also have a legitimate claim as the team of the decade.

Visit Row12.com  for more playoff coverage.

Click here for a recap of New England's thumping of Indianapolis.  
Mucky Tundra
10 years ago
I didn't even realize Lynch ran for 157 yards. Just goes to show how fast things flipped in the 2nd half.
“Nah. I like having the island. It’s pretty cool...not too many visitors”
UserPostedImage
"I’ve got it." -Aaron Rodgers
Fan Shout
Zero2Cool (18h) : lol our email hasn't worked in months. 7 pages of unverified users
Zero2Cool (20-May) : MySpace Screaming Lord Byron ... Brett Favre.
Zero2Cool (19-May) : Packers have signed first-round pick Matthew Golden, leaving second-round tackle Anthony Belton as their only unsigned draft pick
beast (19-May) : Supposedly he has to take his image, and name off of it... but otherwise could keep selling wine if he wanted to.
Zero2Cool (19-May) : he giving up his win business?
beast (19-May) : Speaking of Woodson, sounds like he'll be a minority owner (0.1%) of the Browns
Mucky Tundra (15-May) : Zero, regarding Woodson, that'd why I find the timing with Williams peculiar
dfosterf (15-May) : Ryan Hall y'all does a great job of tracking thesr
Zero2Cool (15-May) : Fear not!! I planned to do 33mi bike ride tomorrow morning, so ... yeah
Zero2Cool (15-May) : We got some dark clouds and nasty winds right bout now.
Zero2Cool (15-May) : Madison they had hail 4pm.
dfosterf (15-May) : Sure looks like these tornadoes are headed towards Green Bay
Zero2Cool (15-May) : Woodson of Charles fame was reluctant and then loved it. that didn't really come out until post career
Mucky Tundra (15-May) : IE "We bought into the Bears and they let us down, we have no choice to seek alternatives"
Mucky Tundra (15-May) : Or that Williams and his family are preparing an exit ramp if they don't like how things are going in a few years
Mucky Tundra (15-May) : Either Williams thought it would make him look good (reluctant but then embraces the city and franchise)
Mucky Tundra (15-May) : I can only assume that the Williams camp agreed to cooperate with that article tells me 2 things
dfosterf (15-May) : Ya. They are in a great mood
Zero2Cool (15-May) : I should visit again
dfosterf (15-May) : ChiCity Sports entering freakout mode due to Caleb and his dad not wanting him to go there
Zero2Cool (15-May) : "He's looking really good out there," Derrick Ansley said of Kalen King. Adds that he's been playing inside and out.
Zero2Cool (15-May) : Him saying he doesn't have one to give haha
Zero2Cool (15-May) : True, that was awesome. The whole F thing was great actually.
dfosterf (15-May) : I did like the Mark Murphy part, sorta
Zero2Cool (15-May) : Some comments on it saying it was great, amazing... I came away thinking... awkward.
dfosterf (15-May) : Packers schedule release video is "interesting" I guess.
Zero2Cool (15-May) : SOOO glad that tool still works. Saves from manually entering each game
Zero2Cool (15-May) : NFL Pick'em import was done last night.
Mucky Tundra (15-May) : Atlanta with 5 primetime games lol
Zero2Cool (15-May) : Week Five BYE?? NFL is hell.
wpr (14-May) : Vikings schedule leaked. Week 12 in GB. Week 18 in MN.
wpr (14-May) : CBS has GB @ NYG Week 11 Nov 16 and they will face MN in week 18 but don't say where. I think away
Zero2Cool (14-May) : W15: Packers at Broncos
Zero2Cool (14-May) : Ben Sirmans on MarShawn Lloyd: “Everything’s full go for him.”
Zero2Cool (14-May) : Luke Butkus says training camp will allow plenty of time to implement new center Elgton Jenkins
Zero2Cool (14-May) : wk 2 commanders at packers
Zero2Cool (14-May) : Ugh. Packers thanksgiving detroit ...boring
Zero2Cool (14-May) : Panthers at Green Bay in week 9, Nov 2nd
buckeyepackfan (14-May) : Week 1
buckeyepackfan (14-May) : Packers Host Detroit Week 1! ML finally gets a week home opener.
beast (13-May) : I was kind of hoping Douglas might come back to the Pack
beast (13-May) : My question is how much do we trust Jenkins? In bad weather, he seemed to struggle a bit with ball control snapping, though he started at OG
beast (13-May) : Well Jenkins probably knows he's not getting that 2026 salary number without a new contact... so just trying to get the new contact early
Zero2Cool (13-May) : CB Rasul Douglas is visiting the #Seahawks today, per source.
dfosterf (13-May) : He's a switch and baiter. Its the same as a bait and switcher except he agreed to the switch first lol
dfosterf (13-May) : 6.8 mil raise next year. Those are existing contract numbers
dfosterf (13-May) : 12.8 plus 4.8 pro rata signing bonus is 17.6 mil. Top center in the league at 18
Zero2Cool (13-May) : Elgton Jenkins wants to rework contract ahead of position change to center
Zero2Cool (13-May) : 🏈Monday, Nov. 10: Eagles at Packers
buckeyepackfan (12-May) : Packers @ Bears week 16(Saturday Game)
Please sign in to use Fan Shout
2025 Packers Schedule
Sunday, Sep 7 @ 3:25 PM
LIONS
Thursday, Sep 11 @ 7:15 PM
COMMANDERS
Sunday, Sep 21 @ 12:00 PM
Browns
Sunday, Sep 28 @ 7:20 PM
Cowboys
Sunday, Oct 12 @ 3:25 PM
BENGALS
Sunday, Oct 19 @ 3:25 PM
Cardinals
Sunday, Oct 26 @ 7:20 PM
Steelers
Sunday, Nov 2 @ 12:00 PM
PANTHERS
Monday, Nov 10 @ 7:15 PM
EAGLES
Sunday, Nov 16 @ 12:00 PM
Giants
Sunday, Nov 23 @ 12:00 PM
VIKINGS
Thursday, Nov 27 @ 12:00 PM
Lions
Sunday, Dec 7 @ 12:00 PM
BEARS
Sunday, Dec 14 @ 3:25 PM
Broncos
Friday, Dec 19 @ 11:00 PM
Bears
Friday, Dec 26 @ 11:00 PM
RAVENS
Saturday, Jan 3 @ 11:00 PM
Vikings
Recent Topics
1h / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

10h / Green Bay Packers Talk / earthquake

20-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

19-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

19-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

19-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

16-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / dfosterf

15-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

15-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / greengold

15-May / Random Babble / Martha Careful

15-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

14-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / dfosterf

13-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / nyrpack

13-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

13-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

Headlines
Copyright © 2006 - 2025 PackersHome.com™. All Rights Reserved.