TALKING POINTS
I don’t even know what to say about this one. The Seahawks did nothing for three quarters, rallied thanks to one miracle, then escaped with a victory thanks to another miracle. Mother Nature was against Seattle on Sunday, but it sure seemed like Father Fate was on the Seahawks’ side.
The story for three quarters of the game was the cold. It was a frosty minus-6 degrees at kickoff, which tied for the third-coldest game in NFL history. Seattle whipped Minnesota 38-7 when the teams played in a relatively balmy 36 degrees five weeks ago at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, but the cold leveled the playing field.
The cold especially sapped the Seahawks’ offense. Seattle, which averaged 412.9 yards and 32.0 points over its previous seven games , had just 134 yards and no points through three quarters. Quarterback Russell Wilson, who was at the catalyst for the offensive surge during the second half of the season, was nowhere near to his usual self in the frigid conditions, with passes regularly sailing high.
Then came miracle No. 1. Seattle, trailing 9-0 early in the fourth quarter, had first-and-10 at the Minnesota 39. Wilson, in the shotgun, wasn’t ready when the snap came, and the ball sailed 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Wilson raced back to the ball, slid to scoop it up, got back to his feet, then under intense pressure improvised an unconventional throw to a wide-open Tyler Lockett, who was able to take the ball all the way down to the 4-yard line. Two plays later Wilson hooked up once again with Doug Baldwin for a 3-yard TD to give Seattle some life.
On the ensuing possession Seattle safety Kam Chancellor came up huge, ripping the ball away from Adrian Peterson to force a fumble that was recovered by Ahtyba Rubin at the Minnesota 40-yard line. That set up Steven Hauschka’s 46-yard field goal that gave the Seahawks the lead.
Finally came miracle No. 2. The teams traded fruitless possessions until the Vikings received the ball on their own 39-yard line with 1:42 remaining. A pass interference penalty on Chancellor, followed by tight end Kyle Rudolph beating Chancellor one-on-one, put the Vikings into field goal range. With 26 seconds remaining Minnesota had a 27-yard field goal to win it — Seattle had no timeouts remaining. Blair Walsh had no problem hitting three field goals earlier in the game, two from 40-plus. But Walsh pulled his kick wide left, and the Seahawks escaped with the win.
None of this happens without another spectacular performance by Seattle’s defense. The Seahawks limited the Vikings to 183 yards of total offense, and all three of Minnesota’s field goals came on short fields — the possessions began at the Seattle 29, the Minnesota 46 and the Seattle 48.
And once again Seattle’s defense shut down the league’s leading rusher Peterson. When the teams met during the regular season Peterson was limited to eight carries, managing just 18 yards. Minnesota made a much greater effort to keep Peterson involved Sunday, handing him the ball 23 times. However, Peterson only only gained 45 yards, less than two per carry. If not for the defensive performance Minnesota leads by more than 9-0 in the fourth quarter and the Seahawks aren’t able to catch up.
Seattle now heads to top-seeded Carolina next week for the divisional round. The Panthers finished the season 15-1, including a 27-23 victory at Seattle in Week 6. However, this Seattle team is a different beast than the one from the first half of the season, and the Seahawks had Carolina beat before a dramatic fourth quarter collapse. Seattle will have no fear going into Carolina. That game will be another 10:05 a.m. PST start.
Also worth noting:
– Punter Jon Ryan had an adventurous moment on his first punt attempt in the first quarter. The snap from Clint Gresham was low, forcing Ryan to tuck the ball away and run. There was a chance at making the first down, so Ryan tried to hurdle the defensive player and ended up landing on his face, apparently breaking his nose. But Ryan shook it off and continued his duties the rest of the way.
– The Seahawks had all kinds of issues with clock management, being forced to burn three timeouts with the play clock winding down. It was revealed after the game that Seattle was having issues with its headsets, which caused problems radioing plays to Wilson from the sidelines.
– Baldwin made one of the most ridiculous catches you will ever see early in the third quarter, stretching full-out above and slightly behind himself to make a one-handed snag. Wilson said after they game it was the best catch he’s ever seen.
– On the drive that set up the game-winning field goal, Wilson somehow eluded what would have been about a 20-yard sack by Everson Griffen, wriggling himself outside the tackle box while in Griffen’s grasp and throwing the ball away just as he was being taken down.
– Seattle coach Pete Carroll said after the game that the Seahawks emerged without any significant injuries.
TURNING POINT
Take your pick: miracle No. 1 or miracle No. 2. Both of those plays changed the game completely in Seattle’s favor.
BOX SCORE
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