Seahawks keep playoff hopes alive with win over Packers
SEATTLE — The comeback wasn’t as dramatic as the two previous times since 2012 that the Seahawks have beaten Green Bay in Seattle.
There was no controversial Fail Mary. No history-making overtime.
But a season potentially saved felt plenty good enough for the Seahawks on Thursday night, who rallied from an early 11-point deficit to beat the Packers 27-24 at CenturyLink Field.
And they did it with Russell Wilson outdueling Aaron Rodgers when it mattered most.
While Rodgers took a sack on a third down deep in Seattle territory early in the fourth quarter and then threw wildly off-target on another later in the quarter, Wilson calmly completed 4 of 5 passes for 73 yards on a final Seattle drive that gave the Seahawks the lead, capping it with a 15-yard TD toss to Ed Dickson on a third-and-9.
Seattle, which trailed 14-3 in the first quarter, improves to 5-5 and keeps its playoff hopes alive while also improving to 2-5 in games decided by one possession. Seattle is now also 8-1 in Thursday night games under Pete Carroll.
Green Bay, one of the teams Seattle is competing against for a playoff spot, falls to 4-5-1 and is likely kicking itself for blowing a few good chances to pad its lead when it had the chance.
Green Bay appeared poised to put the game away midway through the fourth quarter when, on a third-and-9 from the 26, Rodgers threw it deep to Davante Adams, who got a step on Shaquill Griffin. Adams made the catch but Griffin got just enough to tackle Adams at the 17.
The result was a 57-yard gain, the longest play allowed all season by Seattle.
But the tackle proved critical as Seattle didn’t bend, with rookie Rasheem Green sacking Rodgers on third down — Green’s first sack of his career and the fifth of the game for Seattle.
Green Bay’s Mason Crosby hit a 36yard field goal to make it 24-20 with 8:23 left in the game.
But that left the door open for the Seahawks and Wilson.
Wilson got the drive kickstarted with an 18-yard pass to Tyler Lockett on third-and-3. Then, after a 34-yard Wilson-to-Lockett pass got Seattle close, Wilson hit tight end Dickson for a 15-yard score on third-and-9.
Green Bay cornerback Josh Jackson blitzed on the play, and Dickson raced straight ahead into an open area of the defense to catch the quick pass from Wilson for the TD.
That gave Seattle only its second lead of the game, at 27-24 with 5:08 remaining.
Green Bay went three-and-out on its next drive, with Rodgers throwing the ball into the ground on third down to an open Marquez Valdes-Scantling with 4:20 left.
Green Bay, which had only one timeout left, decided to punt. Seattle took over at its own 20 and used an eight-yard run by Wilson and a sevenyarder by Mike Davis to get two first downs to run out the clock.
The game, played in about as ideal conditions as can be found in Seattle in mid-November, could hardly have gotten off to a more ominous start for the Seahawks.
Seattle got the ball first, and on the first play, Chris Carson fumbled, with the Packers recovering at the Seahawks’ 29.
It took Green Bay just three plays to cash in, with Aaron Jones scoring from eight yards out to make it 7-0 just one minute and 14 seconds into the game.
It appeared to go from bad to worse when the Seahawks went three-andout and then Rodgers hit Adams for 41 yards on Green Bay’s first play of its next series.
But the Seahawks held and forced a 47-yard field goal that Crosby missed.
Seattle then used a 30-yard run by Rashaad Penny to move into position for a 39-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski that made it 7-3.
But the Packers again struck quickly. On their next series, a second-and10 from the 46, Rodgers evaded the rush and threw deep to backup tight end Robert Tonyan, who was in man coverage with Bradley McDougald at the goal line. Tonyan made the catch for the score to make it 14-3 at the end of the first quarter.
But Seattle then rose from the apparent dead, scoring touchdowns on its next two drives.
First came a 14-play, 77-yard march capped by a 6-yard pass from Wilson to Baldwin — his first touchdown of the season — to make it 14-10.
After a defensive stop, Seattle got the ball back at its own 30 and on the first play, Wilson threw deep to an open Lockett. The pass was underthrown, but Green Bay’s Raven Greene ran into Lockett as he tried to come back to the ball, resulting in a 48-yard pass interference penalty.
Seattle scored three plays later on a 1-yard run by Carson to go ahead 1714.
The lead was short-lived, though, as Rodgers completed five straight passes on the next drive to move Green Bay 75 yards, the score coming on a 24yard catch and run by Jones.
That made it 21-17 and completed an almost perfect first half for Rodgers, who was 12-for-14 for 214 yards and two TDs in the first half, a passer rating of 156.2, just off the perfect passer rating mark of 158.3.
The score stayed there at the half despite a rather interesting ending as Seattle tried to move for a score of any kind. On a third-down play, Wilson took off running and gained 13 yards before tossing the ball to tight end Nick Vannett.
One problem: He threw it forward, which is illegal once the quarterback is downfield. The upshot was a loss of 19 total seconds (the play and the penalty runoff) and Seattle moved back to its 43 with the half ending one play later.
After a rugged first quarter in which he was 3-for-8 for 12 yards and missed a wide-open Baldwin for a TD, Wilson rebounded, completing 10 of 11 for 101 yards and a TD in the second.
Seattle didn’t have a first down in the third quarter until the 2:47 mark, when David Moore caught a 27-yard pass down the left side on third and six.
It was initially ruled incomplete as Moore lost the ball out of bounds when Green Bay’s Tony Brown tried to jostle the ball loose.
Seattle challenged, and the call was overturned with Seattle getting a first down at the 33.
The Seahawks appeared poised to take the lead when they moved to the Packers’ 19 with a first down.
But Kyler Fackrell sacked Wilson for an 11-yard loss on first down and Seattle had to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Janikowski with 12:14 left that made it 21-20.
This weekend’s planned Cyclocross event at LangeTwins Family Winery has been postponed to Jan. 5.
With Air Quality Index measurements in the area hovering in the very unhealthy range, Sacramento Cyclocross, the series that organizes the event at LangeTwins, made the call to move the race.
“Obviously we’re disappointed to reschedule, but those feelings pale in comparison to what people affected by the Camp Fire are going through,” Sacramento Cyclocross said in a release. “Our long-time presenting sponsor, amaincycling.com, is located in Chico and has already had 13 of their employees lose their homes to this fire.”
For more details on Sacramento Cyclocross, visit www.saccyclocross.com
RUNNING Run Against Hunger
One event that will go as planned in the next week is the 14th-annual Run Against Hunger in downtown Stockton on Thanksgiving morning.
The run starts in front of Banner Island Ballpark and takes participants through Weber Point and the waterfront area.
The event starts at 8 a.m. For more details, visit www.runwalkagainsthunger.itsyourrace.com.