We all know that the Seattle Seahawks staged an incredible comeback to win the NFC championship, but let’s take a look at how they did it.
First of all, the biggest play in the game was by the Green Bay Packers defense. With just over five minutes left, Morgan Burnett got an interception and had four blockers. The only non-offensive lineman in front of him was Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. He could well have scored. Why did Julius Peppers tell him to go down?
Take a look at how much room Burnett had to run:
Here's the end-zone angle:
That was the biggest play in the game. It helped set in motion Seattle’s comeback, and let’s break down the four big plays the Seahawks made.
Marshawn Lynch gained 26 yards on a touchdown drive on the same wheel route the Seahawks had called in the third quarter, right before their fake field goal touchdown. That ball in the third quarter was broken up by linebacker Sam Barrington. This time Barrington went with underneath split receiver Luke Willson (on the first one he went over the top of the receiver and was in position to defend Lynch) and was immediately in trail position. That’s easy pitch and catch for Wilson and Lynch.
Lynch’s 24-yard touchown to give the Seahawks the lead late in regulation came out of “11” personnel (one back, one tight end) with Wilson in shotgun and Lynch offset to the boundary. The Packers were in nickel playing “man free” with single high safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix dropping into the box at the snap. It was an inside zone with a great double team from center Max Unger (60) and left guard James Carpenter (77) on defensive lineman Mike Daniels and stacked linebacker A.J. Hawk. Hawk jumped inside reacting to Lynch’s initial downhill path and was easily blocked by Unger.
In overtime, Doug Baldwin got a 35-yard gain on third and seven in overtime. The Packers played “man free lurk,” which they had done all game on third and long. Baldwin had great patience on his route, setting up cornerback Casey Hayward, who was playing with inside leverage. Wilson made an excellent throw to the Baldwin go route to make sure it was away from the safety rotation..
Then came the game-winning play. The Packers were in “cover zero,” with no deep safety help, for the first time the entire game. Jermaine Kearse ran a deep post against cornerback Tramon Williams, and because of the Packers’ play call there was no safety in the deep middle. The coverage was excellent. But the throw was outstanding, and Kearse had the touchdown.
The Seahawks weren’t great the entire game. They did not have an effective run with two backs the whole game. Wilson didn’t see things clearly at all through three quarters, left throws on the field with a lack of pocket patience and didn’t even made spontaneous improvisational plays with his legs because the Packers often utilized a defensive lineman to spy on Wilson to deter him from running.
But late in the game, after Peppers told Burnett to stop running for some reason when he might have scored, the Seahawks made the big plays they needed to make for the win.
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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.
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