12 key moments from the Seahawks’ season
The road that Seattle followed back to the Super Bowl featured a few unexpected detours and potholes before leading the Seahawks to the doorstep of NFL history. As the Seahawks attempt to become the ninth team to win consecutive Super Bowls, here’s a look back at some of the defining moments of the season. Somehow, we decided on 12, listed in reverse order of importance.
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#12: Sept. 4, 2014
Ricardo Lockette’s 33-yard touchdown pass from Wilson against Green Bay
What it meant
The touchdown, off a “pop pass” in which Wilson faked a handoff to Lynch, then rolled left and threw to Lockette, gave Seattle an early lead it never relinquished in a dominating opening-night win. Read story by Bob Condotta →
What they said
“It was something that we worked a little bit in training camp. We kind of tinkered with it and it all came together on that one play. It’s just another element of the zone read, whether he hands it to Marshawn, whether he keeps it, whether he runs, just to have that, just made the defense have to be that much more honest.”— Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell
Score: Seahawks 36, Packers 16
#11: Nov. 2, 2014
Bruce Irvin’s 35-yard interception return for a touchdown against Oakland
What it meant
When the Seahawks hosted Oakland they were as beat up physically as for any game all season and still a little fragile mentally. Irvin’s 35-yard interception return not only gave Seattle some early breathing room in a game that turned out a little tougher than expected, it also was one of the more spectacular individual efforts of the season as Irvin leaped to tap the ball, then controlled it, then turned and weaved through traffic to get to the pylon. Read story by Bob Condotta →
What they said
“Probably the best play of my career, man. … I just batted the ball and I looked up and it was coming down.”— Bruce Irvin
Score: Seahawks 30, Raiders 24
#10: Dec. 21, 2014
Luke Willson’s 80-yard touchdown at Arizona
What it meant
In a showdown for the NFC West and home-field advantage, Arizona led 3-0 with just over seven minutes to go in the first half when Wilson found Willson, the tight end outracing safety Rashad Johnson, for the long scoring pass play. Read story by The Seattle Times →
What they said
“I understand I’m a tight end but I also take a lot of pride when I’m in the open field that I won’t get caught. So when a guy came at my ankles, I was a little nervous. But I was pretty happy the way it ended up.”— Luke Willson
Score: Seahawks 35, Cardinals 6
#9: Sept. 21, 2014
Kam Chancellor’s interception against Denver
What it meant
Seattle led 17-12 with 2:12 left when Chancellor made a leaping, twisting grab of a Peyton Manning pass at the Denver 13-yard line and returned it 52 yards to set up a field goal. Denver came back to tie and force overtime. But Chancellor’s interception was the indelible moment of a critical early Seattle win. Read story by The Seattle Times →
What they said
“I think (Manning) underestimated Kam’s athleticism, and Kam made him pay for it.”— Richard Sherman
Score: Seahawks 26, Broncos 20
#8: Nov. 23, 2014
DeShawn Shead’s blocked punt against Arizona
What it meant
Seattle was 6-4 and, without a win, there was logically no way to get the NFC West title. Seattle led 9-3 early in the third quarter when Shead — noticing Arizona had just 10 players lined up — blocked a punt that ignited a sequence that ended with Cooper Helfet body slamming the Cardinals’ Rob Housler, who fumbled the ball out of bounds and gave possession to the Seahawks. The turnover led to a field goal. Read story by Bob Condotta →
What they said
“I couldn’t believe (Arizona had just 10 players). I was looking to their sidelines seeing if they were going to bring someone else in and they snapped the ball. So I just took off.”— DeShawn Shead
Score: Seahawks 19, Cardinals 3
#7: Dec. 28, 2014
Jordan Hill’s interception against the Rams
What it meant
A game Seattle had to win to get home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs was tied 6-6 when Hill, a defensive tackle, dived to pick off an aborted screen pass thrown by Shaun Hill at the Seahawks’ 46-yard line. The play led to Seattle’s go-ahead touchdown in a 20-6 victory. Read story by The Seattle Times →
What they said
“I felt it was coming. I started to run with (St. Louis running back Tre Mason) but I dove back when he tried to throw it away. I knew I got my hands underneath that ball.”— Jordan Hill
Score: Seahawks 20, Rams 6
#6: Nov. 27, 2014
Richard Sherman’s first interception against San Francisco
What it meant
Sherman had two interceptions in Seattle’s 19-3 Thanksgiving night win. The first came with the game scoreless in the first quarter and led to a 7-0 Seattle lead that set the tone for the rout. The win indicated that the Seahawks truly were back to their 2013 form. Read story by The Seattle Times →
What they said
“There was an opponent (San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick) who said he would throw it to the open man. He didn’t care who was out there. I was the open man.”— Richard Sherman
Score: Seahawks 19, 49ers 3
#5: Jan. 10, 2015
Kam Chancellor’s 90-yard interception return against Carolina
What it meant
The longest scoring play in Seattle postseason history put the finishing touches on Seattle’s divisional playoff win, making it 31-10 with 5:55 left and capping a spectacular day for Chancellor. Read story by The Seattle Times →
What they said
“All I seen was green and green means go.”— Kam Chancellor
Score: Seahawks 31, Panthers 17
#4: Dec. 21, 2014
Marshawn Lynch’s 79-yard touchdown at Arizona.
What it meant
Seattle led 21-6 when Lynch scored with 10:14 left, so the run hardly decided the game. But it did define a dominating win that all but gave Seattle the NFC West and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. Read story by Jayson Jenks →
What they said
“It was the best run I’ve ever seen. I felt like he was running for freedom or something. Boy, he was gone. They haven’t had a run like that since the Underground Railroad.”— Michael Bennett
Score: Seahawks 35, Cardinals 6
#3: Jan. 18, 2015
Jermaine Kearse’s 35-yard touchdown catch to beat Green Bay
What it meant
Remember that a field goal would not have ended it — the Packers would have gotten one possession in that instance. Instead, the Seahawks saw Green Bay in an aggressive Cover Zero defense — meaning no safeties in the middle of the field — and ended the suspense with one of the more dramatic plays in Seattle history. Read story by Bob Condotta →
What they said
“I mean I just had no doubt in my mind I was going to come down with that play.”— Jermaine Kearse, who had not had a catch in five previous targets in the game
Score: Seahawks 28, Packers 22
#2: Oct. 26, 2014
Luke Willson’s 23-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson at Carolina
What it meant
With 43 seconds left, Willson’s touchdown concluded an 80-yard, nine-play drive and gave Seattle the winning points in a 13-9 victory over the Panthers. Seattle was 3-3 at the time, had lost two in a row and had traded Percy Harvin on Oct. 17. Maybe Seattle still finds itself without this win. But as key regular-season moments go, this is hard to top. Read story by Bob Condotta →
What they said
“We were talking touchdown the whole time. We weren’t thinking about kicking (a field goal) and waiting it out or anything like that. We were going to try to see if we could find a way to win.”— Coach Pete Carroll
Score: Seahawks 13, Panthers 9
#1: Jan. 18, 2015
Chris Matthews’ recovery of an onside kick against the Packers
What it meant
There might be no more important play in Seattle’s season. Seattle scored to make it 19-14 with 2:09 left, and coach Pete Carroll debated kicking it deep before deciding to take a gamble on the low odds of getting an onside kick — nine of 56 were recovered in the NFL in the regular season. But the Seahawks cashed in when the kick went off Brandon Bostick and went to Matthews, leading to Seattle’s go-ahead touchdown. Though Green Bay forced overtime, Seattle went on to victory. Read story by Geoff Baker →
What they said
“Everybody was scrapping there but it happened to be Chris who had the chance, and all of a sudden, there we are.”— Coach Pete Carroll