Rain fell. Wind blew.
And the Saints came marching in hoping for a little revenge and a spot in the NFC title game.
When it finally ended, though, it was the Seahawks who were marching on to within a game of the Super Bowl, thanks to a 23-15 victory Saturday in front of a CenturyLink Field record of crowd of 68,388.
And afterward, in a locker room that was happy but understanding that work remains, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson reminded his teammates of just how close they now are to the goal they set the minute they walked off the field in Atlanta a year ago.
“We’ve got 60 minutes left of football,’’ Wilson said. “That’s 60 minutes of your life. The best 60 minutes you can possibly play and then you play in the Super Bowl. That’s pretty awesome to think about.’’
And ultimately, that reality was all that really mattered on a day that began as a party and ended with some unexpected anxiety as the Saints three times in the fourth quarter had the ball with a chance to tie the game.
“This was an interesting finish to this game,’’ said Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.
Indeed, Seattle led 16-0 at half, seemingly on their way to another victory as easy as their 34-7 beatdown of the Saints on Dec. 2.
Instead, the Saints finally began to creep back in as the Seahawks managed a mere one first down in the third quarter.
Even after Marshawn Lynch’s 31-yard touchdown run with 2:40 left put Seattle ahead 23-8 and seemed to seal it, the Saints created a little heartburn with a touchdown and then a recovery of an onside kick that slid through the hands of Seahawks receiver Golden Tate with 24 seconds left.
“That could have been bad,’’ Tate said. “That could have been real bad.’’
The game, though, ended in somewhat fitting fashion for a mistake-prone Saints team — a penalty for an illegal forward pass on the final play.
Seattle won despite being outgained 409-277 in total yardage and with Wilson completing just 9 of 18 attempts for 103 yards on a day when the passing attack was at times conservative by design due to the elements, and then hamstrung by yet another injury to hard-luck receiver Percy Harvin, who left in the second quarter with a concussion in just his second game of the season.
Ultimately, Seattle won in the style Carroll prides himself on most — with defense and a solid running game.
While the Saints’ Drew Brees ended up with 309 passing yards, only 34 came in the first half as the Seahawks grabbed a lead they would never relinquish. The defense helped set up Seattle’s first touchdown by forcing a New Orleans fumble at the 24.
The defense also held Saints tight end Jimmy Graham, who got in at least two pregame shouting matches with Seattle players, to just one catch for 8 yards.
Of the pregame jousting, Seattle safety Earl Thomas said: “Just some chatter. But you love those moments. I’m never going to forget those guys trying to run through our drills. But they don’t understand what’s coming.’’
And while the passing game struggled, Seattle rushed for 174 yards, averaging 5.0 yards a carry.
“This is exactly why you make a commitment to be a balanced offense and a balanced football team,’’ Carroll said.
Two field goals by Steven Hauschka, who had little trouble kicking through the wind and the rain, gave Seattle a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Hauschka’s second kick came after his counterpart, Shayne Graham, missed a 45-yarder.
Michael Bennett then forced a Mark Ingram fumble on the first play of the second quarter to set up a 15-yard touchdown run by Lynch to make it 13-0. And another Hauschka field goal then made it 16-0 at halftime.
That forced New Orleans, which came in committed to the run more than it had in December, to begin altering its strategy.
The Saints moved at times, getting inside Seattle territory on five of its first six drives of the second half.
But New Orleans could score only two touchdowns, once failing on a fourth down and then seeing Graham miss another field goal from 48 yards with the score 16-8 and just 3:51 left in the game.
At that point, Seattle had just two first downs in the second half. Carroll said the Seahawks were careful in what they called in the third quarter when they were going into the wind.
“We didn’t want to make crucial mistakes when we were backed up,’’ Carroll said. “So we just played good grind-it-out football.’’
But facing a third-and-three at their own 45 and 2:57 left, the Seahawks decided to throw caution to all that wind blowing around. Wilson, seeing New Orleans ready to blitz, dropped back and threw 24 yards to Doug Baldwin, who was in man coverage down the sideline.
“It couldn’t have been more clutch,’’ Carroll said.
Lynch then busted free on a power running play the Seahawks had saved up for this week, throwing a stiff-arm on New Orleans cornerback Keenan Lewis as he ran into the end zone.
“Ah man, this feels awesome,’’ said fullback Michael Robinson. “But this don’t mean nothing if we don’t win next week.’’
| Looking ahead to the NFC title game | ||
| The Seahawks will play host to either the 49ers or Panthers next Sunday in the NFC Championship Game at 3:30 p.m. Seattle faced both teams this season, going 2-1 against them. | ||
| Opponent (date) | Result | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina (Sept 8, 2013) | W, 12-7 | Earl Thomas forces a fumble that preserves road victory. |
| San Francisco (Sept. 15, 2013) | W, 29-3 | Seattle defense smothers 49ers in Sunday night showdown. |
| San Francisco (Dec. 8, 2013) | L, 19-17 | Phil Dawson’s FG with 26 seconds left wins it. |
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