Seahawks vs. Saints final score: Seattle outlasts New Orleans 23-15 to advance to NFC Championship Game
By Josh Hill
If you pegged the New Orleans Saints to roll over against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round, you had another thing coming on Saturday afternoon. Despite being heavy favorites, the Seahawks weren’t able to hold onto a 16-0 lead and allowed New Orleans to make things interesting down the stretch of the first playoff game of the weekend.
You actually get bonus points if you pegged the Saints to roll over as that means you had the Saints advancing this far in the playoffs. The team hadn’t won a road playoff game in the entire history of the franchise until last week against the Philadelphia Eagles and despite going down by two scores and keeping it that way through three quarters, the Saints found their footing late and powered back against the Seahawks.
It was a defensive showdown, unlike the one we saw earlier in the season where it was a one-sided defensive affair. This time around the Saints defense also showed up and held the Seahawks in check for most of the game. Despite a touchdown off of a turnover for Marshawn Lynch, the Saints defense held the Seahawks to all field goals on the afternoon which is a giant feat in of itself.
[Watch: Marshawn Lynch Scores Early TD vs. Saints]
Something else the Saints did was knock Percy Harvin out of the game not once, but twice. The first time drew a flag for a hit on a defenseless receiver, but the second time was a legal hit that gave Harvin a concussion.
Late in the game, the Saints made the score 16-8 after a score and a two-point conversion but working into the wind worked against kicker Shayne Graham who missed a huge field goal with under four minutes left to play. Seattle made a crucial mistake in stopping the clock on their next drive which seemed to allow the Saints back into the game.
[Watch: Percy Harvin Takes Monster Hit, Leaves Game]
But Russell Wilson showed off his clutch ability and converted a 24-yard pass to Doug Baldwin on third down to extend the drive and dagger the Saints season. New orleans still made it interesting, scoring a late touchdown and then recovering the onside kick. Nothing came of it though and the Seahawks now have their sights set on who will stand between them and a Super Bowl next week in the NFC Championship Game.