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Seattle stuns defending champs
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo
Seattle Seahawks' Cameron Morrah (88) carries the ball after a pass reception as New Orleans Saints' Roman Harper (41) and Darren Sharper (42) attempt to take him down in the first half of an NFL NFC wild card playoff football game, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011, in Seattle. This play set the Seahawks up for a touchdown on the next play.
Associated Press
SEATTLE
Jokes, lightweights, laughingstocks.
Not these Seattle Seahawks. They just sent the defending Super Bowl champions packing.
Matt Hasselbeck threw four touchdown passes and Marshawn Lynch scored on an electrifying 67-yard run with 3:22 left as the Seahawks pulled one of the biggest upsets in playoff history with a 41-36 win over the New Orleans Saints.
The Seahawks (8-9) held a 34-20 early in the fourth quarter before Drew Brees looked ready to lead the Saints (11-6) on a comeback. But Lynch broke about a half-dozen tackles for his TD and a few anxious minutes later, and the party was on at the NFL’s loudest stadium.
Seattle, the first division winner with a losing record, will play next weekend, either at top-seeded Atlanta or No. 2 Chicago.
“We kind of expected to win,” first-year Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “I know that sounds crazy, but we did expect to win. The fact that it happened, it’s just kind of like, we want to take it in stride and go to the next one. That’s the way the mindset of this team was.”
Hasselbeck, cleared to play just two days ago because of a hip injury, threw for 272 yards and his four TD passes set a playoff career high. The veteran quarterback threw two TD passes to tight end John Carlson in the first half and started the second half with a 38-yard strike to Mike Williams to give Seattle a 31-20 lead.
The game wasn’t clinched, though, until Lynch provided a run that’ll be replayed in the Pacific Northwest for years. He took a second-down carry with less than four minutes to go and then the highlights began. He broke six tackles on his 67-yard run, tossing in a massive stiff arm that sent cornerback Tracy Porter to the turf.
“We respect the heck out of the Saints, but I think we felt something special all week and today, and we’ll see,” Hasselbeck said
Lynch finished with 131 yards on 19 carries, the first Seattle back to top 100 yards all season.
Hasselbeck, Lynch and a strong performance by Seattle’s offense extended the Saints franchise misery to 0-4 in road playoff games.
The Saints were considered the second-best team in the conference behind the NFC South-winning Falcons, and favored by 10 points.
Brees completed a playoff-record 39 passes in 60 attempts for 404 yards and two TDs. He led one final drive, hitting Devery Henderson on a 6-yard touchdown with 1:30 left to get within 41-36.
But DeShawn Wynn was stopped on the two-point conversion, Garrett Hartley’s onside kick was recovered by Carlson.
“It’s disappointing. It starts with us and myself and the rest of the coaches,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “I thought they had effort but in the end, not enough to win this game. It’s disappointing to get in the postseason and finish with a loss to start.”