It hasn't happened in quite some time. The Carolina Panthers put the Seattle Seahawks up against it right off of the bat and the Seahawks had an uphill battle they couldn't quite overcome.
These are two teams that play very similar styles as both have mobile quarterbacks with top of the line defenses. It was lined up to be a heavyweight fight and while the Seahawks may have taken some haymakers early on, they weren't knocked down when they could have just given up.
Disastrous First Four Minutes For The Seahawks
The start for the Panthers could not have been better as on the first play of the game Jonathan Stewart, in his first game in three weeks, broke off a 59 yard rush to set the tone right off of the bat. Three plays later, Stewart ran it in from four yards out and the Panthers were in business.
The Seahawks obviously didn't put themselves in a good position, but it was nothing they couldn't overcome, or so they thought.
Two plays later, Russell Wilson was under heavy pressure and got rid of it and it fell into the hands of Luke Kuechly who ran it in from 14 yards out for a touchdown.
The Panthers couldn't have asked for a better start, while the Seahawks couldn't have asked for a worse start. That start was just the beginning of a terrible first half for Seattle.
Panthers Keep Their Foot On The Gas
The Seahawks had nothing going their way and the Panthers offense looked like a hot knife cutting through butter. They were clicking and after Seattle punted it back, Carolina put up another touchdown. Then after Wilson threw another interception, the Panthers went up 24-0. Finally, with 6:26 to go Carolina took a 31-0 lead. If you would have said that would be the last time Carolina scored on the afternoon, you would have gotten some weird looks.
Cam Newton and the Panthers offense was clicking as Greg Olsen once again provided some issues for the Seahawks defense. Newton to Olsen accounted for one touchdown while Stewart had two.
After the last Carolina touchdown, the Panthers had a 213-17 advantage in yardage and the Seahawks were going to need the second biggest comeback in NFL playoff history to move to the NFC Championship.
The Seahawks had a chance to get some points before half, but a missed field goal kept them down 31-0.
It wasn't a half to remember whatsoever for Seattle, but they have been in these situations in the past and they have been a second half team in the playoffs of late.
So You're Saying There's A Chance?
The Seahawks were down 31-0, but if there is any team in the NFL capable of even making this a game, it is the Seattle Seahawks.
They got a big return from All-Pro returner Tyler Lockett and that set up a 13-yard touchdown from Wilson to Jermaine Kearse, which was followed on their next drive by a 33 yard drive from Wilson to Lockett. The Seahawks still found themselves down 31-14, but they were officially in the "getting interesting" category.
The Panthers were forced to punt on each of their four drives of the second half, but their consolation was that they were taking time off of the clock. Seattle was down so much that they weren't just battling the Panthers, but the clock as well.
Coming Down To The Wire
After pitching a shutout in the first half, the roles were nearly the polar opposite of the first half. After getting dominated in all phases in the first half, the Seahawks had some how found a way to make it a game.
With 6:04 to play in the fourth quarter, Wilson worked his magic and found Kearse in the back of the endzone for a 3 yard touchdown, and the Seahawks were now within 10.
What hurt Seattle when it came down to it, was their inability to get off of the field on third downs. Carolina had two big third down conversions in the fourth quarter that enabled the Panthers to continue to milk the clock. Ron Rivera said at halftime that they wanted to keep being aggressive, but you could tell that when the Seahawks started scoring, they just needed to hold on.
Seahawks Run Out Of Time
Seattle basically needed a miracle to win this game after being down 31 points at halftime, but that didn't mean they wouldn't go down without a fight. The Seahawks drove down on the Panthers defense and got a field goal to make it a 31-24 game with 1:12 to play. It was now time for the always fun onside kick.
Steven Hauschka kicked a beautiful onside kick, but Thomas Davis for Carolina made a fantastic catch to miraculously hold onto the ball and finish the Seahawks. Davis was upended and then crushed by Kam Chancellor, but he somehow held on to the ball.
With that play, the Seahawks are headed home while the Panthers will dab their way to the NFC Championship against the Cardinals.
Both offenses scored 24 points, but it was the pick six that ultimately was the deciding factor in a roller coaster of a game.
Players of Note
Cam Newton was bottled up nicely by the Seahawks in this game as he was just 16-for-22 for 161 yards and a touchdown through the air while rushing for just three yards. Jonathan Stewart was a big component of the offensive success as he rushed for 106 yards on 19 carries. Stewart was the first 100-yard rusher against the Seahawks since Week 11 of last season.
For Seattle, they had just 78 total yards on the ground and were led by Russell Wilson who was 31-for-48 for 366 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Jermaine Kearse was the leading receiver with 11 receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns.