The Detroit Lions are playing the Seattle Seahawks on January 7. (Getty)
Final Score
Detroit – 0 – 3 – 3 – 0 — 6
Seattle – 0 – 10 – 0 – 16 — 26
Box Score
If Seattle running back Thomas Rawls was the star of Saturday’s NFC Wild Card 26-6 victory against the Detroit Lions, then wide receiver Paul Richardson was the shooting star.
Rawls led all players with 27 carries for 161 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks saw their offense find quite a resurgence, even with the absence of injured WR Tyler Lockett. Doug Baldwin made several circus catches in the second half to cap an 11 catch, 104-yard outing. He had a touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter to seal the game.
The Lions struggled on both sides of the ball, with QB Matthew Stafford going 18-32 with 205 yards. The only points the Lions could muster were off of Matt Prater field goals in the second and third quarter. Things came off the seams in the fourth quarter for Detroit, who still haven’t won a road playoff game since 1957.
The big Seattle victory was the team’s 10th straight home playoff win.
Seattle moves on to play the Atlanta Falcons next weekend in the NFC Divisional round. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m Eastern on January 14 in Atlanta. The game will be broadcast on FOX.
For highlights, stats and more from the Wild-Card win, keep reading:
Game Highlights
Seattle Ices Game Away With Help of Richardson, Baldwin
Paul. Richardson.
The emergence of Seattle’s wide receivers couldn’t have been any more evident against the Lions. The wide receiver duo of Doug Baldwin and Paul Richardson helped the Seahawks to the endzone once more to give them a 26-6 lead against Detroit.
Paul Richardson has EMERGED tonight as a highlight-play playoff force for the Seahawks with two spectacular catches.
Richardson made his second one-handed catch of the game for a first down on a long gain. The catch put Seattle into Detroit territory and allowed more time to tick off of the clock.
A few plays later, Doug Baldwin got in on the action with a circus catch of his own where he pinned the ball to his leg.
sonofthebronx: Doug Baldwin makes first-down catch by holding it against… NBC NFL Playoff: … t.co/Jdo209X3Pw
Baldwin wasn’t done yet, as he caught a 13-yard pass from Wilson to put the dagger in the Lions’ Super Bowl hopes.
#El5ALas5XEl5 ¡Touchdown @Seahawks! Wilson conecta con Doug Baldwin. EN VIVO en TDcom t.co/fECl8t7DVT
There was little stopping Seattle’s wide receiving corps in the Wild Card game.
Seattle Scores TD on Insane TD Catch
Is @prich10 for real?!
No regard for the defender.
And STILL makes the insane one-handed TD catch.
WHAT?! #DETvsSEA t.co/xhfiNHlvOB
Seattle took over at midfield after stopping the Lions on fourth down and had no trouble driving down the field in the second quarter, converting on third down. Once they got into the redzone, they struggled.
But on 4th down and goal, QB Russell Wilson’s pass was caught in the endzone by WR Paul Richardson. The one-handed grab drew a defensive pass interference flag on Detroit, but it didn’t matter with the insane catch.
I mean …
However, it did appear Richardson used the Lions’ defensive back’s helmet as a boost. Regardless, the catch broke a scoreless game and gave the Seahawks a 7-0 lead after the extra point.
Seahawks Drive Down Field, Move Ahead 19-6 on Rawls Touchdown
A short gain inside the 5-yard line put Seattle RB Thomas Rawls into the endzone for a 4-yard score and gave his team a commanding 19-6 lead after kicker Steven Hauschka missed the ensuing extra point.
Seattle drove down the field on the Lions midway through the fourth quarter looking to put a stamp on a Wild-Card victory. A 42-yard throw by Russell Wilson found WR Doug Baldwin along the sidelines to help set Seattle up for the Rawls touchdown.
The run capped off an eight play, 82-yard drive which took 4:03.
Seattle Cashes in on Another Field Goal
The Seahawks started a drive in the third quarter and finished in the beginning of the fourth with a FG. The drive was spurred by a 32-yard run by Seahawks RB Thomas Rawls.
The cut.
The hesitation.
The block by @DangeRussWilson.
This whole @TRawls810 run = Amazing. #DETvsSEA #NFLPlayoffs t.co/vaszXteNdd
The Seahawks’ offense didn’t have many problems moving the chains against the Lions’ defense, especially in the second half. They got another Steven Hauschka FG to move ahead by seven points, 13-6, in the second quarter.
Detroit Moves Game to 10-6 After Another Prater Field Goal
Detroit had poor field position in its first offensive drive of the second half but moved down the field better than it had all game long. The Lions got into Seattle territory, but a Stafford 3rd-down pass to Golden Tate was incomplete and kicker Matt Prater came on and converted on a 53-yard field goal. Prater’s second field goal of the game moved the score to 10-6 in favor of the Seahawks.
Lions Get on Board With Prater Field Goal
The Lions got down the field on offense after a long gain through the air to Golden Tate which led to a Matt Prater field goal to get his team on the board. The two teams headed into halftime with the Seahawks ahead, 10-3.
Pregame
Both teams, fans and news stations are prepping for the 8:15 p.m. EST kickoff from Seattle.
Road whites today for #DETvsSEA
Stat Leaders
Lions
Passing: Matt Stafford 18/32, 205 yards
Rushing: Zach Zenner 11-34 yards
Receiving: Marvin Jones 4-81 yards; Zenner 6-54 yards; Golden Tate 3-25 yards
Seahawks
Passing: Russell Wilson 23/30 224 yards, 2 TD
Rushing: Thomas Rawls 27-161 yards
Receiving: Doug Baldwin 11-104 TD; Paul Richardson 2-48 yards TD; Jimmy Graham 3-37 yards
Preview
The underdog Detroit Lions stroll into CenturyLink Field to take on the Seattle Seahawks during Wild Card Weekend of the NFL Playoffs.
Two of the last three seasons, the Seahawks have found themselves in the Super Bowl. Now, Seattle starts its trek to the championship game against a Lions team that has been struggling as of late. Detroit dropped its game last week to the Green Bay Packers. The loss gave the Packers the NFC North crown. Detroit has now dropped three games in a row and will look to get things going early against a strong Seahawks defense.
Speaking of that daunting defense, the “Legion of Boom” has struggled more than usual this season, but that’s not saying a lot. Seattle is still ranked third in the NFL in points allowed (292), seventh in rushing yards per game (92.9) and fifth in total yards per game (318.7).
The Seahawks will be without Earl Thomas on defense and QB Matt Stafford, who has an injured figure and wears a customized throwing glove, will look to strike early and often to keep his team alive in the game. The Lions have not won a road playoff game since 1957.
The Seahawks have slowly been getting back to their roots on offense. Although they barely defeated San Francisco last week, they have scored at least 20 points in every game since Dec. 11 against the Packers. But QB Russell Wilson will be without WR Tyler Lockett, who exited with a leg injury Week 15 as Wilson’s second receiving threat. Seattle will go up against a struggling Lions secondary. They have allowed 31 touchdown passes as a unit this season and rank last in Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric.
Stranger things have happened in the NFL Playoffs though, and it all begins Saturday night in Seattle.
Here are the listed inactives for Seattle in the game:
Seahawks inactives vs. the Lions
And here’s Detroit’s inactives for the Wild Card matchup:
