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Post by NFL Historian on Dec 25, 2023 21:47:45 GMT 10
Sunday Jan 18, 2015 Start Time: 3:06pm Time of Game: 3:24
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Post by NFL Historian on Dec 25, 2023 21:48:29 GMT 10
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Post by NFL Historian on Dec 25, 2023 21:51:07 GMT 10
Game information Trailing 16–0 at halftime and 19–7 with under three minutes left in the game, Russell Wilson, despite throwing four interceptions, rallied his team to a tremendous comeback and won the game on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse in overtime, making the Seahawks the first team to get to consecutive Super Bowls since the 2004 New England Patriots, and the first NFC team to make consecutive Super Bowl appearances since the 1997 Green Bay Packers. Their sixteen-point halftime comeback was the largest ever in a conference championship game, besting the fifteen point halftime deficit by the Indianapolis Colts against the New England Patriots in 2006 (in which they had trailed 21–3).
Green Bay took the opening kickoff and drove to the Seattle 29-yard line, only to lose the ball when cornerback Richard Sherman made a leaping interception of an Aaron Rodgers pass in the end zone. However, Seattle fared no better, as Wilson was intercepted a few plays later by safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who returned the ball 26 yards to the Seahawks' 4-yard line before a penalty pushed the team back to the 19-yard line. Green Bay managed to reach the Seattle 1-yard line, but they failed to break the goal line with consecutive running plays, forcing them to settle for Mason Crosby's 19-yard field goal. Then Packers linebacker Brad Jones forced a fumble from kick returner Doug Baldwin, which safety Morgan Burnett recovered on the Seahawks' 23-yard line. The Packers again drove to the 1-yard line, but had to settle for another Crosby field goal to go up 6–0. Following a Seahawks punt, Green Bay increased their lead to 13–0 with a 7-play, 56-yard drive that ended on Rodgers' 13-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb on the last play of the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Micah Hyde returned a punt 29 yards to the Seattle 33-yard line, setting up Crosby's third field goal that increased Green Bay's lead to 16–0, the only score of the quarter. On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Clinton-Dix intercepted another pass from Wilson, giving Green Bay a first down on their 44-yard line. But a few plays later, Rodgers returned the favor by throwing a pass that was intercepted by Byron Maxwell. Seattle then drove to the Packers' 18-yard line, only to have Wilson throw an interception to Sam Shields in the end zone.
After an exchange of punts started the second half, Seattle finally got on the board with an 11-play, 78-yard drive, featuring a 29-yard completion from Wilson to Baldwin. Faced with fourth and 10 on the Packers' 19-yard line, the Seahawks made one of the most critical plays of the game. Coach Pete Carroll sent the field goal unit onto the field, but ran a fake field goal play with punter Jon Ryan, previously utilized as the holder, taking the snap and running to the left. As he headed for the line of scrimmage, he managed to pull the entire Green Bay defense toward him, leaving rookie offensive tackle Garry Gilliam, who had checked in as an eligible receiver, wide open down the field. Ryan threw a pass just before reaching the line, which Gilliam hauled in for a touchdown, cutting the Seahawks' deficit to 16–7. Gilliam had played tight end for two years in college before converting to the tackle position, but in that time had never caught a touchdown pass, making this one his first.
Early in the fourth quarter, a 32-yard burst by Packers running back James Starks sparked a 57-yard drive that ended with Crosby's 48-yard field goal, putting Green Bay up 19–7. Green Bay seemed in control of the game now, especially when Wilson threw a pass that bounced out the hands of Kearse and was intercepted by Burnett, who, following the hand signals of teammate Julius Peppers motioning for him to go down, quickly slid to the turf after the interception giving Green Bay a first down at their own 43-yard line with just over 5 minutes left in the game. There appeared to be an open field for Burnett to make a substantial return, which would become a point of controversy post-game due to the contest's ensuing change of fates. Seattle made a crucial defensive stand after the turnover as the Packers attempted to run down the clock; three carries by Eddie Lacy resulted in a tackle by Kevin Williams for a 4-yard loss, a tackle by Michael Bennett for a 2-yard loss, and a 2-yard gain. Green Bay had forced Seattle to use two timeouts, but they punted the ball back after running just 1:12 off the clock. Taking the ball back on their 31-yard line with 3:52 left, Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch started the drive with a 14-yard run. Then Wilson hooked up with Baldwin for a 20-yard completion, and later connected with Lynch for a 26-yard gain. Two plays later, Wilson scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, trimming Green Bay's lead to 19–14.
With 2:09 and one timeout remaining, Seattle decided to attempt an onside kick. With a pending recovery by the Packers seemingly punching their ticket to the championship game, Steven Hauschka's kick went up in the air and straight to Packers tight end Brandon Bostick. Bostick, the Packers' third-string tight end, misplayed the Seahawk's attempt, stepping in front of all-pro receiver Jordy Nelson who was waiting for the ball, and ignoring his own blocking assignment in the process. The ball subsequently bounced into the air off of Bostick's helmet and facemask after going through his hands, and was recovered by Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews. From there it took Seattle just four plays to score on Lynch's 24-yard touchdown run with 1:25 remaining on the clock. On the subsequent 2-point conversion play, Wilson was flushed out of the pocket, forced to run backwards and to the right sideline. Just before being hit, he launched a high floating pass from the 17-yard line to the opposite side of the field. Tight end Luke Willson, who had not been assigned to do anything except block on the play, caught Wilson's pass at the 1-yard line and took the ball into the end zone to give the Seahawks a 22–19 lead. After the kickoff, Rodgers completed a pair of 15-yard passes to Cobb and Jordy Nelson. Then he scrambled 12 yards to the Seahawks' 36-yard line. Following two incompletions and a 6-yard toss to Nelson, Crosby kicked his fifth field goal of the day, tying the score at 22–22 with 14 seconds left on the clock and sending the game into overtime.
Seattle won the coin toss and started overtime backed up on their own 13-yard line. After driving to the 30-yard line, they found themselves facing third and 6. Wilson took the snap and fired a pass to Baldwin, who broke ahead of Casey Hayward on a streak pattern down the right sideline and hauled in the catch for a 35-yard gain to the Packers' 35-yard line. On the next play, Wilson launched a nearly identical pass to Jermaine Kearse, who was running straight down the middle of the field. Kearse was tightly covered by Tramon Williams, but managed to pull ahead of him just enough to make the catch for a 35-yard touchdown reception, sending Seattle to their third Super Bowl in franchise history. This was Kearse's only catch of the game. Prior to this, he had been targeted five times by Wilson, four of those five attempts had been intercepted.
Wilson finished the game 14-for-29 for 209 yards and a touchdown, with four interceptions, while also rushing for 25 yards and a touchdown. Baldwin was the top receiver of the game with six receptions for 106 yards, while also returning three kickoffs for 58 yards. Lynch had 25 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown, while also catching a 26-yard pass. Rodgers was 19-for-34 for 178 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions. Lacy was the team's top rusher with 73 yards, while Nelson was their top receiver with five receptions for 71 yards. Burnett had 10 tackles – eight of which were solo tackles – two sacks, an interception, and a fumble recovery.
This was the third postseason meeting between the Packers and Seahawks. Green Bay won both prior meetings, the most recent by a score of 42–20 in the 2007 NFC Divisional playoffs.
As it stands, this remains the last NFC Championship appearance for the Seahawks.
Wikipedia
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