Wilson, Seattle rally past Green Bay
After a shaky beginning, Russell Wilson got hot in the fourth quarter, Bobby Wagner and Seattle’s defense stymied Aaron Rodgers, and the Seahawks stayed in the middle of the NFC playoff race.
“We’ve been through so much throughout this season, it was time to get over the hump,” Wagner said. “We’ve been down, we’ve been up, we’ve lost close games, we’ve won close games. It was time.”
Wilson threw for 225 yards and his 15-yard touchdown pass to Ed Dickson with 5:08 left was the difference in Seattle’s 27-24 win over the visiting Packers on Thursday night.
In a key matchup in the race for the two NFC wild-card spots, Seattle (5-5) snapped a two-game losing streak by overcoming an early 14-3 deficit. Wilson was inconsistent at times early, but was outstanding in the fourth quarter, capping the winning drive by recognizing a blitz and hitting Dickson quickly for his second TD pass of the night.
“I thought that whole drive was pretty exceptional . ... When it came down to it, third down, you’ve got to win in the red zone, and we were pretty clutch in the red zone there at the end of the game,” Wilson said.
Rodgers had a huge first half and threw for 332 yards, but the Packers (4-5-1) had just one scoring drive in the second half, helped by a 57-yard strike from Rodgers to Davante Adams. Rodgers threw two TD passes in the first half, but didn’t get the ball back after Green Bay punted with 4:20 left. Seattle got first-down runs from Wilson and Mike Davis and finished the game kneeling three times.
Chris Carson rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown, overcoming the mistake of fumbling on the first play of the game and setting up Green Bay’s opening score. Tyler Lockett had two key receptions late in the fourth quarter and Doug Baldwin had his first TD catch of the season for Seattle.
Rodgers was 21-for-30 passing with 10 of those going to Adams for 166 yards receiving. Backup tight end Robert Tonyan had the first catch of his career go for a 54-yard touchdown to give Green Bay the 14-3 lead. The Packers led 21-17 at halftime after Aaron Jones caught a 24-yard TD pass from Rodgers in the final minute of the half, but Green Bay’s offense was stymied in the second half. Brain studies: The NFL is awarding more than $35 million to five organizations conducting research into diagnosis and treatment of brain injuries. Through its Scientific Advisory Board established as part of its “Play Smart. Play Safe” initiative, the NFL is awarding grants to investigative teams focusing on concussions and associated conditions, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). One such effort is being undertaken at UCSF led by Dr. Geoff Manley. That program, “Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury (TRACK-TBI Longitudinal),” will receive $3.5 million. Bosa game-time decision: Joey Bosa’s status for Sunday’s game against the Broncos is likely to be a game-time decision. The Chargers’ defensive end has practiced the past two days as he works his way back from a foot injury that caused him to miss the first 10 games. Bosa said before Thursday’s practice that he is doing both team and individual drills and that he feels good.
Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said the third-year lineman looked good in the limited snaps he took.
Bosa first injured his foot during training camp, which caused him to miss the preseason. He reinjured it during practice Sept. 5.