NFL Network is airing a two-part series that ranks the 100 best games in the history of the league. Part one (Nos. 100-31) aired last Friday, and the Seattle Seahawks were featured in four of the 70 games ranked thus far. (Nos. 30-1 will be revealed on Friday, Oct. 4). Let’s see which games have made the list:
No. 84: 2006 NFC wild card – Cowboys at Seahawks (Jan. 6, 2007)
Seahawks 21, Cowboys 20
A 9-7 season under coach Mike Holmgren was just enough for the Seahawks to snag a wild-card spot and the chance to face off against the surging Cowboys, led by Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo. Three quarters of back-and-forth football later, Seattle trailed the Cowboys, 13-17, and fell further behind when Cowboys kicker Martin Gramatica booted a 29-yard field goal five minutes into the fourth quarter.
Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck responded beautifully with a 37-yard pass to Jerramy Stevens to put the Seahawks up, 21-20, but the Cowboys marched right back down the field, leaving them in position for a 19-yard field goal attempt with 1:19 left.
Just then, disaster struck for Dallas as Romo bobbled the snap. He picked up the ball and dashed for the goal line, but Seahawks safety Jordan Babineaux darted in to snag Romo by the ankles and take him down at the 2-yard line. Seattle would then run down the clock for the win and go on to face the top-seeded Bears in the divisional round.
No. 72: 2003 NFC wild card – Seahawks at Packers (Jan. 4, 2004)
Seahawks 27, Packers 33 (OT)
Coming off a 10-6 regular season, the red-hot Seahawks traveled to chilly Green Bay for a wild card matchup against Brett Favre and the Packers. After a defense-heavy first half that left Seattle in a 13-6 deficit, Matt Hasselbeck led his team on a 74-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 1-yard scoring rush from Shaun Alexander. Alexander closed out the next drive in the same way to put the Seahawks up 20-13. Green Bay responded in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 unanswered points for a 27-20 lead; however, Alexander’s third touchdown of the night tied the score at 27. The Packers missed a field goal, and the game headed to overtime.
The Seahawks won the coin toss, and an already-tense Lambeau crowd was infuriated when Hasselbeck leaned into the referee’s mic and confidently declared: “We want the ball, and we’re gonna score.”
Fate heard Hasselbeck’s declaration and responded cruelly – just 4:25 into overtime, Hasselbeck threw the ball straight into the arms of Packers defensive back Al Harris, who returned it 52 yards for the score. It was the first time in NFL history that a playoff game had been decided by a defensive touchdown in overtime.
No. 68: 2013 NFC championship game – 49ers at Seahawks (Jan. 19, 2014)
Seahawks 23, 49ers 17
When the rival 49ers came to town for the conference championship, the Seahawks knew that they would have to play their very best football in order to secure a trip to the Super Bowl. For three quarters, their top-ranked “Legion of Boom” defense held San Francisco to just 17 points – but San Francisco’s own formidable defense only allowed 13 points from Seattle.
That all changed in the fourth quarter when the Legion of Boom forced three turnovers and quarterback Russell Wilson threw a beautiful 35-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse on fourth down to put the Seahawks up 20-17. Even after a Stephen Hauschka field goal that increased the lead to 23-17, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was undeterred, leading a promising drive down to the Seattle 18. On first-and-10 with 30 seconds left in the game, he lobbed a pass up into the end zone for receiver Michael Crabtree. It would have ended the Seahawks’ hopes, if not for the presence of star cornerback Richard Sherman.
“The Tip,” as it is known now, lives on in Seahawks lore – Sherman leaped for the pass and brushed the football with his fingers straight into the arms of Malcolm Smith for the game-sealing interception. His voice hoarse among the din that erupted after the game, Sherman went on to deliver his famous speech that described Crabtree as a “sorry receiver.”
Seattle would go on to demolish the Denver Broncos in that year’s Super Bowl for the franchise’s first-ever championship.
No. 44: 2014 NFC championship game – Packers at Seahawks (Jan. 18, 2015)
Seahawks 28, Packers 22
A year after winning their first Super Bowl, the Seahawks were back in contention for another championship with another top-ranked defense.
It was the Packers’ defense, however, that stole the show, holding Seattle scoreless through the first half and picking off Russell Wilson four times. The Seahawks trailed 19-7 with about four minutes remaining in the game, taking all of the air out of the usually raucous CenturyLink Field crowd.
A 1-yard touchdown run from Wilson and an onside kick recovery later, and the Seahawks were back in it. Running back Marshawn Lynch powered his way to a 24-yard touchdown, and tight end Luke Willson brought in the two-point conversion to put Seattle up 22-19. But Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, battling a calf injury, nonetheless took Green Bay into the range of kicker Mason Crosby. At the end of regulation, the score was 22-22.
For the second straight year, Kearse was the hero for the Seahawks. He had been having a rough game – all four of Wilson’s interceptions had targeted Kearse – but 3:19 into overtime, Wilson showed a tremendous amount of trust in his receiver, launching a 35-yard beauty that Kearse brought in for the touchdown and another NFC championship. It was the NFL’s largest-ever comeback in a conference title game.
