In a game where little went right for the Seattle Seahawks early, Russell Wilson and company rallied for a hard-fought victory. The Hawks’ offense struggled to gain momentum and were shut out in the first half.
Wilson threw for 142 yards on the day, completing 13 of 26 passes. He threw for a touchdown while tossing a rare interception. The signal caller also chipped in with five carries for 21 yards.
The offensive struggles spread to the receivers and running backs as well. Doug Baldwin led the way with five catches for 42 yards and a core, but no other pass catcher had more than 35 receiving yards. Christine Michael was the team’s top rusher with 70 yards on 21 carries.
While the Minnesota Vikings played stout defense, some of the struggles were likely attributed to the cold. According to the NBC broadcast, it was the third coldest playoff game in NFL history. The temperature often hovered around zero degrees for the entire game, but the Seahawks survived thanks to a series of crucial plays.
The first came early in the third quarter as Baldwin leaped for a spectacular one-handed catch to keep the drive alive on third down. Baldwin’s catch seemed to give the Seahawks the momentum they needed to eventually win the game.
In the early stages of the fourth quarter, Wilson finally came through. The Seattle quarterback fumbled the snap on a play in Minnesota territory, but instead of conceding a big loss on the play, Wilson recovered the ball and scrambled to find a wide open Tyler Lockett. The rookie receiver brought the ball all the way to the four yard line after bringing in the downfield lob and cutting across the field. That magnificent play set up a short pass from Wilson to Baldwin that put Seattle on the board, still down 9-7.
The defense played a key role as well, as strong safety Kam Chancellor forced Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson to fumble and turn the ball over soon after the Baldwin touchdown. The strip led to a Steven Hauschka field goal to give the Hawks the lead for good.
After that, the Seattle defense held on for a win. Or rather, a missed 27-yard field goal from Vikings’ kicker Blair Walsh decided the game. Walsh disappointedly missed the go-ahead kick with under 30 seconds remaining in the game.
Pete Carroll’s team played strong defense the entire game, but allowed Minnesota to drive down at the end of the game. Leading up to the point, Michael Bennett played a stellar game despite finishing with a mere three tackles and no sacks. The defensive lineman seemingly lived in the Vikings’ backfield and proved impossible to block. Bobby Wagner led the Hawks with eight tackles and a sack.
On the day, Seattle held Teddy Bridgewater to 146 passing yards despite the quarterback completing 17 of 24 passes. Peterson had trouble all game, carrying the ball 23 times for only 45 yards. The running back didn’t find the endzone and lost that crucial fumble.
Next Up
Seattle travels on the road next Sunday to take on the Carolina Panthers in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Vikings' season came to an end with the loss.