Single Plays Of The 2013 Season That Helped Win SB XLVIII

It's still sinking in for me that our Seattle Seahawks are SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS! It's unbelievable. Every time I see someone around town wearing SB Champs gear, I can't help but smile.

But with each passing day, the more it's sunk in. And with that, I along with most of you, have had time to reflect on the season on the whole. And the road that our Hawks took to winning their first title in franchise history.

In case some have forgotten, the Hawks won the NFC West by a SINGLE GAME over the 49ers. And with ONE LESS WIN the 49ers, who held the division record tie-breaker, would have won the division and the #1 seed with home field throughout the playoffs. The Hawks would've had to win at least 2 road playoff games, and likely a 3rd. I'm not saying they couldn't have. But it would have been a lot tougher. And there's a very good chance we aren't sitting here today the reigning Super Bowl champs.

With all that in mind, that means that EVERY SINGLE WIN of last year was vital in the Hawks winning the Super Bowl. Every single one. The Hawks had more than a few close calls. Wins in which the game hinged on one single play. Plays that without, the Hawks would have lost, or very well likely would have. Can you guys think of which single plays won a game last year? I have a few in mind. The margin for error was so thin in the grand scheme of things, and the reward so great. It's time we took a look back at those plays the respect and just due they rightfully deserve.

I'll get things started with the easiest one of all.

4th down to Kearse.

SeaTown81":35gwycpt said:

It's still sinking in for me that our Seattle Seahawks are SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS! It's unbelievable. Every time I see someone around town wearing SB Champs gear, I can't help but smile.

But with each passing day, the more it's sunk in. And with that, I along with most of you, have had time to reflect on the season on the whole. And the road that our Hawks took to winning their first title in franchise history.

In case some have forgotten, the Hawks won the NFC West by a SINGLE GAME over the 49ers. And with ONE LESS WIN the 49ers, who held the division record tie-breaker, would have won the division and the #1 seed with home field throughout the playoffs. The Hawks would've had to win at least 2 road playoff games, and likely a 3rd. I'm not saying they couldn't have. But it would have been a lot tougher. And there's a very good chance we aren't sitting here today the reigning Super Bowl champs.

With all that in mind, that means that EVERY SINGLE WIN of last year was vital in the Hawks winning the Super Bowl. Every single one. The Hawks had more than a few close calls. Wins in which the game hinged on one single play. Plays that without, the Hawks would have lost, or very well likely would have. Can you guys think of which single plays won a game last year? I have a few in mind. The margin for error was so thin in the grand scheme of things, and the reward so great. It's time we took a look back at those plays the respect and just due they rightfully deserve.

I'll get things started with the easiest one of all.

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Great thread. :th2thumbs:
How about the strip/fumble by Thomas/Sherman at the 10 yard line in Carolina late in the 4th Quarter?

Soooo many. But because I am so grateful to Mr Lynch, I will nominate his TD run vs. Houston. Just huge.

Edit: I misread the question. Didn't realize we were looking strictly at game winning plays. A good topic, but game changing plays would allow for more discussion, IMO. Game winning plays can be defined in as little as 16 posts. Still, a great thread topic none the less.

You touched upon the very reason why I relish this championship every single minute of every single day.

The margin between Super Bowl championship and 'just another season' is razor thin, year in and year out.

I still get nervous when I watch the NFCCG. One woulda-coulda-shoulda going the Niners way and the game was theirs. Of course, on the other hand, a few more woulda-coulda-shouldas falling our direction and the game would have been out of reach for them that final drive and the Immaculate Deflection would have been just another amazing play by the defense, ranking alongside the Sherman tip to Thomas in the Giants game.

I went to the Houston game, and the signature play of that game was Sherman's pick 6. That tied the score, and put the game into OT. We lose that game, we lose HFA, and I'm not sure we beat the Niners in their house. Huge win.

Riley12":217lspna said:

You touched upon the very reason why I relish this championship every single minute of every single day.

The margin between Super Bowl championship and 'just another season' is razor thin, year in and year out.

I still get nervous when I watch the NFCCG. One woulda-coulda-shoulda going the Niners way and the game was theirs. Of course, on the other hand, a few more woulda-coulda-shouldas falling our direction and the game would have been out of reach for them that final drive and the Immaculate Deflection would have been just another amazing play by the defense, ranking alongside the Sherman tip to Thomas in the Giants game.

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^ I love this post. I too still get nervous watching the 9ers pick up 1sts on that final (fateful) drive. The wife looks at me like I'm nuts when I pause the game due to her (numerous) interruptions. What a game and it went down (almost) exactly the way I had hoped. It could only have been better (for me) if that final home game concluded the sweep of SF. Next year.

Every play defined our chances. The entire season was an emotional roll coaster ride.

Week 8 against the Rams. They pushed us to limit.
Earl was a man possessed that game. When he came flying in on the red zone to make the stop, inches away from being a TD. Sealed the win for our Hawks to go 7-1.

Great post. The Butterfly Effect. Which play was the genesis that spawned the ultimate resolution?

There's no right or wrong answer of course but in the nature of the game, I'm going with Sherman's Pick 6 @ Houston.

When that play happened, I felt we were FOR REAL.

Guess I was right. :snack:

Earl Thomas forced fumble in the 4th @ Car. A loss to Carolina to start the season could have unraveled this whole thing and we'd have lost our #1 seed HFA.

I feel like there were some tippy toe, sideline, third down conversions that saved drives that we needed to win regular season games. I can't remember right now (fine, single malt scotch), but I think this happened more than once.

I'd love a refresher. Good topic, btw.

Good job. I think you guys mentioned most of the ones I was thinking of off the top of my head.

Week 1 vs Carolina. The Panthers were driving, down 12-7 with just a few minutes to go in the game. DeAngelo Williams had broken off a huge 1st down and got to within the 10 yard line, before Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman teamed up to force a fumble recovered by Tony McDaniel. Without it, Carolina very well could've run the clock down and won on a late TD.



Week 4 vs Houston. Richard Sherman's pick 6 to tie the game up and send it to overtime. I was in that stadium. Every Houston fan was already in celebratory mode. After the play, they were stunned and dead silent. A miraculous win when you consider that play in addition to the fact that they were down 20-3 at half and 20-6 going into the 3rd qtr.



Week 8 vs St Lous. The ugliest win of the entire season. To go back and re-read the game day threads from that one would be a hoot. The huge goal line stand to end the game. and seal the 14-9 win on MNF. To me, the biggest play of that game was the 3rd down stop inches in front of the goal line by Earl Thomas and Heath Farwell. Farwell is a great special teamer for the Hawks. But he earned his Super Bowl ring on that play alone.



There were close, single score games at home vs the Titans and the Bucs. The Tampa game being the huge comeback from down 24-7 in the 3rd qtr. I'd have to look those games up to think of specific vital plays. I'll leave it to you guys to think of some.

SeaTown81":22zsiu6h said:

Week 4 vs Houston. Richard Sherman's pick 6 to tie the game up and send it to overtime. I was in that stadium. Every Houston fan was already in celebratory mode. After the play, they were stunned and dead silent. A miraculous win when you consider that play in addition to the fact that they were down 20-3 at half and 20-6 going into the 3rd qtr.

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I was there, too, and you're exactly right about the effect Sherman's pick 6 had on that stadium. Houston was 2-1 and were one of the early favorites to go to the SB. It was a turning point for both teams. That game took the life out of the Texans, and they were never the same the rest of the season. A Texans fan paid another $200 for the #8 Matt Schuab jersey he was wearing so they could burn it in the parking lot. The following day, a pizza place was advertising a Matt Schuab special...Pick 6 toppings and pay for it dearly. For us, it put us on a 4-0 start for the first time in franchise history, and a two game lead over the rest of the division. From then on, everyone else was playing catch up.

We had lady luck on our side that day, too. In overtime, I can remember in overtime one of their Dbacks getting flagged for unnecessary roughness when he picked up and body slammed one of our receivers. That penalty put us within a few short runs of very makeable FG range, and Hauscka knocked down the game winner.

The stars really lined up for us last season. We won a lot of close games, which is a trademark of a championship team.

The go-ahead touchdown catch by Kearse in the week 1 Carolina game was something special.

Here's a recap of the play:

We were at the Panthers' 43 yard line. On the play before, Wilson saw the safety cheating up so he launched a deep rocket to Stephen Williams on the right side. Big Steve was 2 yards beyond his CB and although he had to extend, Russ put it right on his hands. Williams lost the ball in the dive at the 5.

On the very next play we are set up in the exact same formation, except instead of Luke Willson flaring out left from the backfield, Zach Miller goes in motion and stays in to block on the right side. The other change on the right side: out wide this time is Jermaine Kearse. Defensively, Carolina sends a safety 20 yards deep, presumably to deter the home-run shot. But Russell Wilson is undeterred.

As soon as #3 fakes the handoff and rolls right, the deep safety breaks to Kearse's side; at that point Jermaine is even with his CB at the 36 yard line. When Wilson plants to throw, Kearse is at the 26, he has one yard on his CB and the safety is heading over, but he's still at the hash mark. Russell zips the ball downfield, Kearse high-points it at the 5, going up and turning around to make the catch over the CB. He then spins to avoid the oncoming safety and completes his 360º turn while diving into the endzone.

It was a big-time play that gave us the lead, and, retrospectively, set the tone for a nice sophomore season from the UW product. At that point in September, the news of Kearse's laser eye surgery and the praise we heard out of training camp had raised expectations for our 2nd year receiver, but we still weren't sure if he could play a significant role. It was pretty cool that five months later Kearse made one of the more electrifying TD plays in recent Super Bowl memory. Along with the week 1 score, these two plays made for cool bookend touchdowns of a championship Seahawks season.

4th and goal from the 1 at St. Louis: Thurmond comes in untouched on the corner blitz, forces Clemens into an early throw, the ball falls incomplete and Seattle gets the ugliest win I have ever seen.

The Richard Sherman pick 6 vs the Texans.
The Farwell stuff at the goal line vs the Rams, and the following play's pass defense as well. I know you said single plays, but those two belong together.

The punt return by Tate vs the Bucs.
The long kick return by Baldwin vs the Niners in the playoffs. The Niners had just retaken the lead, and in one play Baldwin put us back in business. Niner momentum: Gone.

HawkAroundTheClock":34b929se said:

The go-ahead touchdown catch by Kearse in the week 1 Carolina game was something special...

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Go Hawks,
BillA

Not a Seahawk play, but it definitely helped our path to the championship. Who knows if the Saints beat the 49ers without this call.. had the Niners won that game, we could have very well been a 13-3 wild card team.

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HawkWow":3mazyvde said:

Riley12":3mazyvde said:

You touched upon the very reason why I relish this championship every single minute of every single day.

The margin between Super Bowl championship and 'just another season' is razor thin, year in and year out.

I still get nervous when I watch the NFCCG. One woulda-coulda-shoulda going the Niners way and the game was theirs. Of course, on the other hand, a few more woulda-coulda-shouldas falling our direction and the game would have been out of reach for them that final drive and the Immaculate Deflection would have been just another amazing play by the defense, ranking alongside the Sherman tip to Thomas in the Giants game.

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^ I love this post...........

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Me too. Good one Riley, especially the part about the margin between Championship and just another season being razor thin. It truly is.


I'd like to nominate Earl causing the fumble by DeAngelo Williams at the end of the Carolina game. Without that they may well have scored and beat our team.

How about Malcolm Smith's 37 yard INT return in the 1st quarter vs. the Rams in Week 17? We needed to win that game to lock up the Division and HFA...and that play was a signature 'There is no way you are beating us in our house today'. I think from that moment the Hawks were the NFC West Champions.