GREEN BAY, Wis. – Another road loss left Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren questioning a call or two Sunday.
The Seahawks’ 33-27 overtime loss had a lot to do with an interception return for a touchdown during the extra period, but Holmgren believes a turnover that wasn’t called might have nearly as critical.
Green Bay Packers running back Ahman Green used second effort to convert a fourth-and-1 during a key fourth-quarter drive. Green lost the ball at the end of the play, but officials ruled his forward progress had been stopped.
“I know where the fumble was was not a first down,” Holmgren said. “They said forward progress, and the play was over. I would disagree. On most of those cases, the play is not over.”
Green was ruled to have converted the first down, and the Packers went on to score the go-ahead touchdown. Seattle responded with a touchdown of its own to tie the score and send it into overtime.
Holmgren took issue with key calls in two other Seahawks losses this season, including one that drew an apology from the NFL after it acknowledged an official’s mistake.
Calls did not go entirely against the Seahawks on Sunday, as two challenged replays resulted in overturned results that favored Seattle.
One of those wiped out an 84-yard fumble recovery return by Packers linebacker Nick Barnett. The touchdown was voided after the fumble was ruled an incomplete pass because Matt Hasselbeck’s arm was moving forward when he lost control.
Short-handed D: The Seahawks did not start rookie free safety Ken Hamlin for undisclosed reasons, and two other starters missed significant time with injuries.
Outside linebacker Chad Brown sprained his left ankle on the first play of the second quarter and did not return. D.D. Lewis replaced him and had a game-high 10 tackles.
Cornerback Shawn Springs suffered a knee injury late in the third quarter and missed about a full quarter of play before he returned at the end of regulation and overtime.
Hamlin did not see the field at all until the second quarter and played mostly on special teams. Damien Robinson replaced him in the starting lineup and had eight tackles.
Holmgren would only say that the decision not to start Hamlin was a “team issue.”
Brrrrr! Temperatures were 20 degrees at kickoff, but the wind chill led to a more icy feeling than what people are experiencing in and around Seattle.
The temperature was listed at 8 degrees with the wind chill, and it felt even colder than that as the afternoon wore on.
The skies remained clear in Green Bay until about two hours after the game, at which time a steady snowfall began and continued well into the night.
Running for their lives: Two of the top four rushers in the NFC squared off, but got overshadowed by unfriendly run defenses.
Green Bay’s Ahman Green, who led the conference with 1,881 rushing yards, was held to 66 on 23 carries. Seattle’s Shaun Alexander had just 45 yards on 20 carries.
But the duo combined for five rushing touchdowns, all coming from the 1-yard line.
Alexander has 17 rushing touchdowns this season, including the playoffs. Among those were 10 touchdowns from 1 yard out.
Lambeau as a temple: Perhaps because of the good fate that has befallen the Packers since the death of Irv Favre, the father of quarterback Brett, there were a number of religious signs at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
The most over-the-top may have been one that simply read: “God bless the Packers.”
Fullback William Henderson, a devout Christian, doesn’t believe in the theory of football teams getting help from above.
“If God meant for us to have this win, then thank you, Lord,” Henderson said. “But the reality is, I don’t think God plays favorites. We’ve got to go out there and execute X’s and O’s, just like anybody else.”
The holy handmade signs were far from the most offensive being displayed. One fan held up a hand-painted sign that took a shot at the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings.
“Saddam is a Viking,” it read.
Quick slants: With his second-quarter touchdown pass, Brett Favre set an NFL record for consecutive playoff games with at least one scoring throw. He has thrown a touchdown pass in 15 consecutive games. … Seahawks offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson had his first reception of the season after the ball bounced off the hands of Packers linebacker Hannibal Navies. Hutchinson’s 4-yard reception and run gave Seattle a fourth down at the Green Bay 1, and Alexander scored one play later to tie the score at 13. … Seattle defensive end Antonio Cochran, who was inactive in the season finale, played and had two tackles Sunday. He signed a four-year, $10 million contract in February but lost his starting job and eventually got demoted for the San Francisco game. … The Seahawks went 0-7 in morning games this season, all of them starting at 10 a.m. PDT. Sunday’s kickoff was at noon in Green Bay. Seattle won all eight of its home games but was 2-7 on the road.
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