Final Score: Seahawks 36, Packers 16
The Seattle Seahawks raised their 2013 championship banner Thursday night, then kept the celebration going throughout the night.
Seattle overcame a first-quarter deficit Thursday against the Green Bay Packers and routed the Green Bay Packers 36-16 before a packed, raucous, sellout crowed at Century Link Field.
Check out the full box score here via ESPN and read on for a recap.
Key Stat: Seattle Held Green Bay to 80 Rushing Yards
The Seahawks held Eddie Lacy to 34 rushing yards. (Getty)
Seattle’s defense carried it to the Super Bowl title last year, and the unit stepped up bigtime again on Thursday night.
Seattle shut down one of the best offenses in football, holding the Packers to 255 total yards and 80 rushing yards.
Eddie Lacy had a 15-yard run on his second carry, but totaled only 19 rushing yards the rest of the way to finish with just 34, 3 shy of James Starks for the team lead. Coach Mike McCarthy announced after the game that Lacy suffered a concussion during the game.
Green Bay’s passing attack wasn’t a while lot better.
Aaron Rodgers completed 23 of 33 passes for just 189 yards with one touchdown and one interception and a passer rating of 81.9.
The Seahawks Got a Safety in the 3rd Quarter & the Rout Was on
Green Bay started a drive at its own 10-yard-line late in the third quarter and disaster ensued for the Pack. Michael Bennett sacked Aaron Rodgers and forced a fumble.
Derek Sherrod recovered the fumble for Green Bay, but the Seahawks’ Tony McDaniel tackeld him in the endzone for a safety, stretching Seattle’s lead to 22-10 with 4:42 left in the quarter.
Seattle scored again on its next possession when Marshawn Lynch rushed for his second touchdown of the night, making it 29-10 with 14:55 left in the game.
Green Bay finally got its first touchdown when Aaron Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb on a 3-yard touchdown strike with 9:31 left in the game. Green Bay went for 2 in an attempt to cut the deficit to 10, but Rodgers’ pass to Andrew Quarless was incomplete.
Seattle then stuck in the dagger when Russell Wilson hit Derrick COleman on a 15-yard touchdown strike with 2:31 left in the game that made it 36-16.
Russell Wilson Hit Ricardo Lockette for the Seahawks’ 1st Touchdown
Russell Wilson executed a brilliant 8-play, 80-yard drive to open the second quarter. The drive culminated in back-to-back 33-yard completions: One to Percy Harvin to get into Green Bay territory and one to Ricardo Lockette for the touchdown.
Marshawn Lynch Had 110 Yards & 2 Touchdowns
Green Bay tied the game with 6:55 left in the first half on a 23-yard field goal by Mason Crosby, but Seattle re-took the lead on a 9-yard Marshawn Lynch touchdown run with 3:41 left in the half, and the Seahawks made it 20-10 on a 20-yard Hauschka field goal with 10:28 left in the third quarter.
The 28-year-old Lynch showed no signs of slowing down. He rushed for another touchdown in the second half and finished with a game-high 110 rushing yards on 20 carries.
John Kuhn Scored the Season’s 1st Touchdown
Touchdown, Packers! Green Bay is on the board after John Kuhn powers it in. Packers capitalize on Seahawks turnover to take 7-3 lead.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 5, 2014
Green Bay had primo field position after Earl Thomas’ muffed punt, and the Packers didn’t let the gift go to waste.
Aaron Rodgers led the team on a quick, 6-play, 34-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 1-yard rushing touchdown by John Kuhn. After Mason Crosby’s extra point, the Pack took a 7-3 lead with 1:25 left in the first quarter.
Steven Hauschka Put the Seahawks on the Board
With Steven Hauschka's 35 yard FG Seahawks have scored the first points of 2014 and lead Packers 3-0. #Kickoff2014 #GBvsSEA
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 5, 2014
The season’s first points came courtesy of Steven Hauschka, who kicked a 35-yard-field goal that gave Seattle a 3-0 lead with 6:07 left in the first quarter.
The Seahawks’ drive had stalled out at the Green Bay 44-yard line, forcing Seattle to punt on 4th-and-2. But a running into the kicker penalty gave Seattle a first down, and Russell Wilson and Co. made the Packers pay for the penalty.
Hauschka’s kick capped an 11-play, 48-yard drive that took up 5:50.
The Packers went 3-and-out on the ensuing drive and had to punt after Aaron Rodgers’ pass intended for Jordy Nelson was incomplete on 3rd-and-15. But Earl Thomas fumbled the punt and Green Bay’s Ha Ha Clinton-Dix recovered, giving Green Bay the ball on the Seattle 34 to start its next drive.
The Packers Had to Punt on Their 1st Possession
Lacy runs twice for 21 yds, but Rodgers sacked on 3rd down, so #Packers punt. #GBvsSEA
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 5, 2014
Eddie Lacy’s 15-yard run gave the Packers the season’s first first down, but Green Bay’s opening drive stalled out at its own 39, and Tim Mashtay had to come on to punt after O’Brien Schofield sacked Aaron Rodgers on 3rd-and-10.
How to Watch on TV & Online
(NBCSports.com)
TV: NBC has coverage beginning at 8 p.m. Al Michaels, Chris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya have the call.
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: If you’re based in the United States, you can watch the game online for free via NBC Sports’ Live Extra program. You’ll need the log-in and password for a cable account to access the stream. The stream is not available internationally. The NBC Sports website has a list of frequently asked questions.
HOW TO WATCH ON MOBILE: You can watch the game for free on your iPhone, iPad or Android by downloading the NBC Sports Live Extra app. The app is free and is available in the App Store and the Google Play store.
About the Game
It’s the first meeting between the NFC contenders since the infamous Fail Mary game in 2012, in which replacement referees incorrectly ruled that Seahawks receiver Golden Tate had caught a Hail Mary pass from Russell Wilson, giving Seattle a 14-12 win on the final play of the game. The call was so egregious that it single-handedly ended the lockout of the league’s officials.
The teams are both favored to win their divisions and both are popular picks to make it to the NFC Championship Game. Bovada has the Seahawks as 6-point favorites.
