Seattle Seahawks Erase Some Doubt with Wild Wild Card Win Over Saints

The adage lives on: anything can happen in the playoffs. In terms of historical upsets, it isn’t anywhere near the Miracle on Ice or the 2008 Super Bowl, but the Seahawks' first-round victory over the defending champion New Orleans Saints is monumental in its own way. The sub-.500 Seahawks officially upset the status quo of the NFL and its nation of followers by gunning their way past the decidedly favored Saints.

It’s sure to go down in local lore as a classic, if not on the national scene. The fans had been spending the past week following the division-clinching win over the Rams trying to convince themselves that victory was possible, despite the overwhelming sentiments of the national media.

Of course, Pete Carroll has never really been a proponent of conventional wisdom. Deploying an unorthodox, player-friendly team mentality, this team has spent the past year swimming against the grain of convention. After spending the week being a national punching bag after becoming the first playoff team with a losing record, the team took out their frustrations by beating a better Saints team.

And the Saints certainly were the better team, competing for home-field advantage up until the last week of the season in a competitive NFC South and beating the Seahawks handily in a previous meeting during the season. They were undoubtedly the better team, except for one Wild-Card Saturday that certainly lived up to its name.

On a cold and grey Saturday in the northwest, the Seahawks sent a shockwave throughout the rest of the country and validates the strides the team has made in the past year since finishing last season a disappointing 5-11. The catalyst has been Carroll, who has rejuvenated a sagging franchise and injecting a competitive fire the team had been the last few years.

The Seahawks knew this wouldn’t be an easy one. No game against the defending champs ever should be but the odds were clearly not in favor for an upset.

The only thing the Seahawks were considered as having going for them was the overwhelming fan presence and their propensity for bringing the noise to big games. The fans seemed to sense that they could somehow energize the team and impress the will of the perennial underdog towards a victory on the big stage.

The game looked to be headed the way many though it would when the Saints jumped out to a 10-0 lead early and the pressure was on the Seahawks who needed a score to keep the game from slipping away. After methodically working their way down the field, Matt Hasselbeck found John Carlson in the end zone off of a play-fake and the score revitalized a crowd that was quickly fading.

When New Orleans scored again on a Julius Jones run, it looked as if they had too much firepower for the Hawks, but somehow they found the fire and gave the kind of gutsy performance fans have been waiting all year to see.

The week spent watching from the sideline must’ve reminded Hasselbeck of the quarterback he is capable of being. He turned in his best performance, by far, in recent years throwing for 272 yards and four touchdowns. He stood tall in the pocket and showed that he’s still got something left in the tank as he baffled the Saints defense which certainly didn’t expect that kind of play from him.

O f course, as good as Hasselbeck was, much credit for this win should fall on Marshawn Lynch. His pounding runs kept adding on and wearing down the defense culminating in a run for the ages. It’s sure to have a place in the Seattle sports’ pantheon with ‘The Double’ as one of the most exciting and crucial plays in local history.

On a second and ten with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game the Seahawks were clutching a 34-30 lead when Marshawn took the hand-off up the gut. It looked like he was stopped for a gain of about three and then again for a gain of nine, but both times he kept his legs churning and broke tackles.

In all, nine defenders couldn’t catch him as he bullied his way for 67 yards ending in a graceful dive into the endzone amidst the pandemonium inside Qwest Field. Super Bowl hero Tracy Porter was thrown like a rag doll from Lynch’s monster stiff arm, as he showed why he’s nicknamed "Beast Mode."

The play captures perfectly how much heart and desire this overmatched Seahawks team had. Not just Lynch breaking a number of tackles but linemen like Tyler Polumbus, Chris Spencer and Sean Locklear as well as Hasselbeck and receiver Mike Williams racing down the field with Lynch to throw blocks. It was a snap shot of Carroll’s “Always Compete” mantra that this team has taken to heart.

The run was the icing on the cake. After storming the Saints and taking a 27-17 lead it seemed like anything would be possible. But this Saints team was certainly no quitters. Even when they were down 41-30 lead, they drove down the field and scored a touchdown. All of Seattle was holding their breath during the ensuing onside kick and when the Hawks recovered, it was over.

Drew Brees played mistake free in throwing for over 400 yards, but it just wasn’t enough to topple the Hawks.

It was like a great boxing match; though the Seahawks looked down and out early, they fought back and matched the Saints punch for punch eventually outlasting them. It was a well-earned decision and the one-two punch of Hasselbeck and Lynch cam through when it needed to.

But this team was so much more than that. Credit deserves to go all around as every player did their part to earn the victory.

The receivers made the plays they had too and Brandon Stokely was the clutch receiver this team had been missing since Bobby Engram.

The defensive line got pressure from Raheem Brock while Colin Cole and company made plays when they needed to and remained tough up front.

The offensive line kept Hasselbeck mostly upright and paved the way for Lynch to be the Seahawks first 100-yard back of the season. It’s a unit that appears to finally be gelling after throwing out 10 different lineups through the 16 regular season games.

The linebackers were their usual tough self, flying to the ball on every play while the secondary did a good job of limiting big plays from New Orleans’ explosive offense. I’m fine with Brees having to dink and dunk his way to 400 yards with 60 passes, especially if it nets a win.

And this victory, coupled with the Packers win over the Eagles, sets a date in Chicago next weekend where the Seahawks got a hard-earned victory earlier this season. Of course, that was pretty early on and the notoriously frigid Chicago weather can become a factor this time.

This next game will tell whether the Seahawks were simply lucky or if the 7-9 record was the aberration and this team is finally getting hot at the right moment, poised to make a Super Bowl run. If they play like they did against the Saints, the Seahawks can prove again that anything is possible come playoff time.