Seattle Seahawks secure Super Bowl berth with amazing win over Green Bay Packers
Monday 19 January 2015 11:16, UK
The Seattle Seahawks are heading back to the Super Bowl after a simply incredible 28-22 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game.
The reigning champions appeared to be dead and buried when they were two scores down heading into the last four minutes, but quarterback Russell Wilson, who had been intercepted four times, engineered two touchdown drives and a third in overtime to deny the Packers.
Wilson looked to be heading for the worst day of his career, as the Packers defense completely stymied his attempts to get their passing offense going until the closing minutes of the game when they scored 15 points in 44 seconds after managing only seven in the previous 58 minutes, those coming on a trick play.
He threw an early interception to Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, which ended in a Mason Crosby field goal, and Crosby made it 6-0 after Doug Baldwin fumbled a kick-off return to give the Packers good field position.
By the end of the first quarter, Green Bay led 13-0 with what turned out to be their only touchdown of the game, a 13-yard Aaron Rodgers pass to Randall Cobb.
Crosby kicked a third field goal to make it 16-0 at half-time, by when the Seahawks had managed only eight yards of passing offense, Wilson being picked off on two more occasions by Clinton-Dix and Sam Shields, the latter as the Seahawks pressed for a touchdown.
They eventually scored with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter, but the touchdown came in strange fashion as a trick play saw punter/holder Jon Ryan pass to tackle Garry Gilliam, who was left alone in the endzone.
Crosby's fourth field goal with 10:53 remaining in the fourth left Seattle needing two touchdowns, and with their offense still spluttering, Marshawn Lynch apart, the game seemed to be over as a contest when Wilson was picked off for a fourth time.
But Morgan Burnett's decision not to run back the interception proved costly as the Packers were quickly stopped on offense to hand Seattle the ball back with just under four minutes left.
Wilson connected with Lynch and Baldwin for key completions to take the Seahawks down towards the Packers line and he took the ball over the line on a sneak to cut the deficit to 19-14.
Brandon Bostick fluffed the chance to catch Steven Hauschka's onside kick, giving Seattle the chance to mount another drive just before the two-minute warning.
Wilson's 15-yard run and a pass to Luke Willson got them close to the red zone, but Lynch needed only one chance to score and put Seattle in front for the first time, scampering over from 24 yards to make it 22-19 after Wilson hit Willson for a two-point conversion.
Green Bay had 1:25 to level, and they did just that with a series of quick plays that ended with Crosby's fifth field goal of the game - and that meant overtime.
But Seattle won the toss and made the most of their drive, knowing a touchdown would be enough to take them to the Super Bowl in Arizona on February 1.
The key play saw Wilson hit Baldwin for 35 yards to leave them with first and 10 on the Packers 35 - and one play later the game was over as Wilson found a diving Kearse and sent the sell-out crowd at CenturyLink Field into delirium.
