A big game in the nation’s capital: Seahawks have been there, done that

Published 5:45 pm Sunday, October 5, 2014

RENTON — Looking back on his first playoff game, Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright can admit now that the moment might have been a bit big for him and his teammates.

The Seahawks would eventually win that game at Washington two seasons ago, but not before playing falling behind 14-0 while looking nothing like the team that had dominated the opposition over their final four games of the 2012 season.

“That was our first time being the playoffs for a lot of us, and I know for me my head was spinning,” Wright said. “The lights were real bright, the game was moving real fast, and that was big for us to grow and get that playoff experience under our belt. To come out with a win in that game was real big for us.”

While Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and his players would be quick to tell you that past results have nothing to do with what will happen at FedEx Field tonight, with Seattle heading back to Washington it’s hard not to look back at that January 2013 victory and think about what it meant to a franchise that would win a Super Bowl title a year later.

“It was a great win for us to go across the country and do that whole thing and come on back and get ready for the next one,” Carroll said.

In that victory at Washington, as well as Seattle’s trip to Atlanta the following week, the Seahawks learned about themselves, from the mistakes that caused them to twice fall behind on the road, to the resilience that allowed them to come back and take the lead in both games. Perhaps the Seahawks would have had the same 13-3 record and won a Super Bowl last season without that comeback win in Washington, but it’s also very possible that first playoff experience for much of the roster was a key factor in last season’s success.

“It gave us the playoff experience we needed,” receiver Doug Baldwin said. “There weren’t many of us who had been to a playoff game let alone won a playoff game. So just being in that atmosphere and the hype surrounding it — there was a lot of talk in the media, a lot of you guys in here — just being prepared for that, it definitely prepared us for the next year.

When Washington quickly jumped to a 14-0 lead in that playoff game, the Seahawks, despite their inexperience on the playoff stage, were able to keep their cool and slowly chip away at the lead before finally taking their first lead of the game midway through the fourth quarter. And it wasn’t just that the Seahawks trailed early, it looked for a while like they were completely overmatched. When Washington scored its second touchdown late in the first quarter, the Seahawks had run just three plays on offense, losing two yards on that possession. But by chipping away slowly and making it a one-score game at halftime, the Seahawks not only gave themselves the confidence that they could complete that comeback, but it helped them do it again the following week in Atlanta — though the Falcons ended up winning on a last-minute field goal drive. And it carried over into a championship season the next year as well, a season that saw the Seahawks overcome big deficits against Houston and Tampa Bay, as well as a sluggish start in the NFC Championship game they would eventually win.

“We definitely learned from it, because they came out and punched us in the mouth early on,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said of the Redskins. “It showed what type of team we are; we don’t let the first quarter define us. We were able to make adjustments and come back.”

In particular that game was another step in the growth of Russell Wilson. The rookie quarterback had already led his team to comeback wins that season, most notably the dramatic overtime victory in Chicago. And he wasn’t spectacular in that win in Washington like he was a week later against Atlanta, but Wilson still showed veteran poise in his postseason debut to help lead the comeback.

“To go on the road and play a playoff game in Washington, DC in a tough environment, 91,000 people, it’s not easy to do,” Wilson said. “We were able to stay one play at a time, and be in the moment, and just find a way to win a big game. So for me, I think that was huge in terms of going to the next playoff game and then going into the next season.”

A year after that win, the Seahawks were back in the postseason, and eventually the Super Bowl. And a year after Wright’s “head was spinning,” this is how he described last season’s playoffs:

“Everything felt normal, it felt like a regular season game. That first playoff game really helped us out.”

Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com