SEATTLE — Spotty at times, but ultimately too much for the slumping Detroit Lions, the Seattle Seahawks took their first playoff step Saturday night and it was a good one.
Behind a resurgent running attack and a stop-’em-cold defense, Seattle broke on top early and never gave the Lions a chance to make it a game. Though it took two fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Seahawks to get some breathing room, the end result was a 26-6 NFC playoff victory at noisy CenturyLink Field.
With the win, Seattle goes on the road to play Atlanta, the NFC’s No. 2 seed, in a divisional playoff game at 1:35 p.m. PST Saturday. It will be the rematch of an Oct. 16 game between the teams in Seattle, a 26-24 Seahawks victory.
Though the Seahawks would prefer to play at home, “it doesn’t matter where we go,” coach Pete Carroll said. “We don’t care who we play, where it is or any of that. We’re of that mindset. … It’s going to be a really difficult challenge and of course playing (in Atlanta) is always hard. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t care who we play … when we play them or where we play them.”
“We know Atlanta is a good football team,” linebacker K.J. Wright said. “And they’ve had a bye week, so they’ll be nice and fresh. But I’m telling you, we’re going to come out there and be ready to play. We know just because we beat them the first time, they’re not going to lay down. So it’ll be a fun matchup.”
“It’s going to be a tough atmosphere on the road, but I feel like we’re built for that,” added linebacker Bobby Wagner. “And we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
The Seahawks, who closed their regular season with lackluster games against Arizona (a loss) and San Francisco (a win), will at least head to Atlanta with renewed confidence and momentum. Though Detroit came in with a three-game losing streak, this was nonetheless a playoff game and Seattle responded accordingly.
Though the Seahawks went scoreless in the first quarter and never got into Detroit territory until early in the second quarter, that drive led to a dramatic touchdown after a roll-the-dice decision by Carroll to go for a TD on fourth-and-goal from the Detroit 2.
From the shotgun, quarterback Russell Wilson dropped back to pass and then lofted the ball to Paul Richardson, who was running toward the right corner of the end zone. Richardson drew a pass interference penalty from Lions safety Tavon Wilson, but was still able to reach around the defender with his left arm and make an acrobatic one-handed catch.
Seattle added a second-quarter field goal, but the lead was still just 10-6 heading to the fourth quarter. But from there the Seahawks took command, first getting a field goal and then mounting back-to-back long touchdown drives to seal their 10th consecutive home playoff victory, a string dating back to the 2005 season.
Seattle’s defense also did its part, limiting Detroit to a pair of field goals, one of 51 yards and the other from 53 yards. Detroit’s deepest offensive penetration of the entire game was a drive that reached the Seahawks’ 33-yard line in the second quarter.
“To get a win like we did, (giving up) no touchdowns and the offense playing great … it’s definitely a great (lift) going into next week,” Seattle safety Kam Chancellor said. The Atlanta game “is the next challenge and it’s going to be big.”
“This felt like old times,” cornerback Richard Sherman said. “The offense controlled the game with the run game and huge explosive plays with the pass game, and on defense we kept them out of the end zone. So it felt right. It felt great.”
The winner of next Saturday’s Seattle-Atlanta game advances to the NFC Championship game. There is an outside chance that game could be at CenturyLink Field — the Seahawks would need to beat Atlanta and have top-seeded Dallas lose to next week’s opponent, either Green Bay or the New York Giants — but otherwise Seattle, with a win against the Falcons, would play at Dallas.
“We have great respect for (the Falcons),” Wilson said. “And (former Seattle assistant coach, now Atlanta head coach) Dan Quinn, we know he’s a great football coach. So it’s going to be a great game and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
