For about 57 minutes Russell Wilson was an embarrassment but suddenly things started going his way, which led to the Seattle Seahawks taking a lead. The Green Bay Packers managed to tie it late and send the NFC championship game into overtime, but by then the momentum was on the other side, and there was no one stopping it from carrying them into a second consecutive Super Bowl.
It’s impossible to play any worse than Russell Wilson did through almost four quarters of football, throwing four interceptions and for most of the game, having more turnovers than completions. But then comes the stint of 15 points in 44 second that somehow put the Seattle Seahawks in the lead. He kept that frame of mind going in overtime, as a lazy, complacent coverage from the Packers, leaving no safety in the backfield made it possible for Jermaine Kearse to easily beat his corner in a one on one situation, sending his team to the Super Bowl with a 28-22 win.
Russell Wilson thanked god while drowning in his own tears after the game. There had to be something other than what was going on within the confines of the field that made the Seahawks come out of this game victorious, right? Sometimes it’s easier explaining these things as act of god then trying to explain why suddenly everything clicked for a short amount of time, exactly the amount of time needed in order to make the turnaround.
But it might simply come down to two things the Packers did wrong: Play too conservative in the second half, almost fearing of trying too hard to score points and use their long range passing game, and not execute the little plays. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix letting the two point conversion simply happen despite being within reach of the ball – if not for an interception, then simply tipping it or just trying to make things difficult for Luke Wilson, and of course the onside kick which Brandon Bostick messed up, being unable to catch the ball as it bounced off his chest and landed in the arms of a Seahawks player.
And that’s usually the real reason for these kinds of losses – if you don’t finish the job when there’s a chance to do it, don’t be surprised when everything suddenly goes wrong at the worst possible timing. The Seahawks didn’t do anything special to get this win. They simply saved all their regular, usual offensive plays for the last moment possible. The Packers seemed too confident and comfortable in their 16-0 lead which slowly got chipped away. Maybe it was Rodgers’ hamstring injury that stopped them from getting more creative, but the bottom line is that they gave up a lead like no one ever has in a conference championship game.
The feeling coming off of this game is that is the Seahawks didn’t lose in this one, nothing is going to stop them. But this game showed flaws from every possible angle in this team, especially their offensive line and Russell Wilson making some bad decisions even when he got the time. He figured things out for a short amount of time which seemed to just be enough, but Bill Belichick isn’t Mike McCarthy. There isn’t anyone like him, and when there’s a weakness to expose, he usually finds a way to do it.
The Packers are constantly referred to as a team that gets this far and does very well each season because of Rodgers. But he didn’t play very well, throwing two interceptions, in a conference championship game that needed more from him. Maybe it was the injury and also the play calling that made him look bad. This, along with the little things we mentioned earlier, is on the coaching staff as well, but in an MVP-like season from him, more is to be expected with a game ripe for the taking, which he, along with his teammates, somehow let slip out of his hands.