Category Archives: Playoffs

Franchise history, Playoffs, Playoffs: At Minnesota

Seattle’s playoff miracles

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The Seahawks have been such a middling franchise over most of their 40 years that their miracle moments are easy to recall. Let’s take a look at Seattle’s most miraculous playoff wins:

Wild-card game at Minnesota
Botched FGs -- WalshSeason: 2015
Blair Walsh’s missed 27-yard field goal in the final 30 seconds allowed Seattle to escape with a 10-9 victory.

NFC title game vs. Green Bay
Season: 2014
Seattle rallied from a 19-7 deficit in the final four minutes, getting two touchdowns, an onside kick recovery and a two-point conversion to force overtime, where they quickly won it, 28-22.

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Franchise history, NFL history, Playoffs, Playoffs: At Minnesota

A tale of two 10-win Seattle teams

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1986 Krieg and Largent
Dave Krieg & Steve Largent during a 1986 game (Seahawks.com)

As stunning as it still is to consider, this is the best all-around team in the history of the Seattle Seahawks. That’s odd to say about a 10-win team — and it would be odder yet if this team had not made the playoffs.

Thirty years ago, it wouldn’t have. Thirty years ago, in fact, a red-hot 10-6 Seahawks team did not make the postseason.

These Seahawks, who have won six of seven and have averaged 32 points over the past eight games, are the team no one wants to play in the playoffs (even if Arizona GM Steve Keim says he does).

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Playoffs

Seahawks will play Panthers at 10 a.m., too

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Panthers clockPlenty of Seahawks fans seemed to be annoyed that the NFL put the Seahawks down for a 10 a.m. playoff game (noon Minnesota time) next Sunday, and some even went so far as to scream bloody conspiracy.

If you were one of those unreasonably irked fans, you are going to be even more upset when you learn the Seahawks — assuming they win — will play another 10 a.m. game the next Sunday in Carolina. (As the No. 6 seed, Seattle would play at the No. 1 seed in the divisional round.)

In fact, it wouldn’t be until the NFC title game that the Seahawks would play an afternoon game. On Jan. 24, the NFC game will kick off at 3:40 p.m. — after the AFC Super Bowl team is determined.

Fans have gotten used to the Seahawks playing 1 p.m. or later games because the team has been the NFC’s No. 1 seed the past two years — and thus has had home-field advantage. In fact, the last time the Hawks played a 10 a.m. playoff game was in January 2013, when they went to Atlanta and lost 30-28 in the final seconds.

The Seahawks have gone 7-5 in 10 a.m. games the past three years. They were 2-2 this year, losing at St. Louis in the opener (in overtime) and blowing a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter in Cincinnati.

However, all of those worry warts need to recall also that the Hawks blew out Minnesota 38-7 in a 10 a.m. game in Week 13 (and also Baltimore the next week). Oh, and Seattle also beat Carolina in 10 a.m. kickoffs during both Super Bowl seasons.

Why would anyone be concerned about a 10 a.m. game at this point?

Injury report, Playoffs, State of the team

Carroll spins Lynch’s rehab choice, thinks he can make playoffs

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Lynch stretchingMarshawn Lynch’s trademark was approved Wednesday for his infamous phrase, “I’m just here so I won’t get fined.”

Funny timing, considering he isn’t “here” in Seattle and won’t get fined for it.

Pete Carroll said Lynch might make it back for the first playoff game, and the coach also deflected concerns that the team is not controlling Lynch’s rehab as the running back recovers from abdominal surgery.

Lynch has been working with his personal trainer in the Bay Area, as he does every offseason, and Carroll has been relying on reports from that crew regarding Lynch’s progress.

“I would think he can make it back (for the playoffs),” Carroll said. “That’s what we hear. It’s really up to that day-to-day kind of progression that he’s making. There’s a lot of days between next week starting up. We’ll see what happens.”

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Playoffs, Week 17: At Arizona

Rematch season: Playoff destiny is no longer in Seahawks’ hands

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NFC playoffsThanks to the offense’s pitiful performance vs. the Rams, the Seahawks’ playoff destiny is no longer in their hands. But the season of rematches is about to begin.

If the Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, the Seahawks will head to Minnesota for the NFC wild-card round — regardless of what the Hawks do against Arizona earlier that day.

If Green Bay wins, Seattle’s result against Arizona will matter: A win would mean the Hawks go to Washington; a loss would mean they go to Green Bay.

 

Other than the possible Washington matchup, every game the Seahawks might play the rest of the way — starting this week in Arizona — will be a rematch from earlier in the season. And the Seahawks owe payback to all but Minnesota — they lost to Green Bay, Arizona and Carolina.

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Playoffs

A look at Seattle’s possible opponents

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When a team is in the position the Seahawks are in, waiting for their playoff opponent to be determined, plenty of people get caught up in the “whom to root for” game.

We have always said: If you can’t beat them all, you obviously don’t deserve to win it all. Pete Carroll goes by the same philosophy: “It’s all about us.” The opponent does not matter.

So, don’t worry whether the Hawks end up playing Carolina, Arizona or Detroit next weekend — or Green Bay or Dallas in the NFC title game.

If the Hawks are good enough (and they are) they will beat whichever team advances to meet them.

Here’s a quick look at the three teams the Hawks might face next week:

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Playoffs, State of the team

There’s still hope for inconsistent offense

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Paul Richardson goes up for a catch against Janoris Jenkins (Seahawks.com)It was easy to fall into the trap thinking: The Seahawks’ offense had put up 35 points against a tough Arizona defense, so they should be able to score two or three touchdowns against the St. Louis Rams, right?

Not so fast.

Russell Wilson and company moved the ball pretty well at times, amassing 354 yards, but they turned the ball over twice and otherwise shot themselves in the foot as they were blanked on the scoreboard in the first half for the first time since 2011. They needed some help from the defense in the second half, too.

A week after rushing for 267 yards on 34 carries, the Hawks tallied just 132 on the same number of runs vs. St. Louis. And Wilson, who was sacked just once and hit a mere four times by Arizona, was sacked three times and hit seven by the Rams, not including a big hit he took on a first-half run.

So, it appears the Arizona game was an anomaly, and the true Seattle offense remains the one that struggles to sustain drives and score touchdowns. In three of the six wins to close the season, the Hawks scored just one offensive touchdown.

But Pete Carroll is not concerned, especially when the Hawks faced Arizona’s No. 5 scoring defense, San Francisco’s No. 10 scoring defense and St. Louis’ red-hot unit, which ranked second to Seattle in points allowed since Week 9 thanks to consecutive shutouts of Oakland and Washington.

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Playoffs, Week 17: St. Louis

No. 1 defense/seed combo is nigh unbeatable

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For the second straight year, the Seahawks are the No. 1 seed in the NFL — and this time, no one should be questioning whether they can use that home-field advantage to win the Super Bowl.

Not after they did it last year.

Forget the fact that no Super Bowl champ has won a playoff game since 2005, when New England did it, and no champ has repeated since the Patriots did it in 2004.

Forget the fact that four teams have not even made the playoffs the next season or that four were bounced in the first game.

Pete Carroll didn’t want to hear it after the Hawks beat St. Louis at home in the season finale for the second straight year to secure the top seed. It’s the fourth time in Carroll’s five seasons the Hawks have beaten the Rams in Seattle in the season finale — three of those wins resulted in NFC West titles.

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