Thanks for the memories: Seahawks' season ends with loss to Falcons



ATLANTA – It’s never fair to say an entire game – or a whole season – came down to one play. This one sure didn’t.

But it sure FELT like the Seahawks game and season all changed with one penalty on one punt return Saturday afternoon.

Sure, Seattle made its fair share of mistakes - particularly in the second half. And Atlanta showed exactly how it earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

But a holding call in the second quarter led to an 87-yard penalty and a giant shift in momentum the Seahawks never recovered from, losing to the Falcons 36-20 and once again ending their season in the divisional round of the playoffs.

The play in question came on a Devin Hester punt return in the second quarter.

Hester returned it 80 yards to the Falcons’ 7, but a holding penalty on Kevin Pierre-Louis brought it all the way back to Seattle’s own 7 instead.

Two plays later, Russell Wilson was sacked in the end zone for a safety that shrank the Seahawks’ lead to 10-9, and from that point on the Falcons were off the races.

It stalled what had been a promising beginning for the Seahawks, who shook off a history of slow starts in road playoff games and jumped out to leads of 7-0 and 10-7.

But once the Falcons’ vaunted offense was off and running, there was no stopping it.

MVP candidate Mat Ryan had a monster day, completing 26 of 37 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns.

He spread the ball around remarkably well, as Devonta Freeman had four catches for 80 yards, Julio Jones had six catches for 67 yards, Taylor Gabriel had four catches for 71 yards, and Mohamed Sanu had four catches for 44 yards.

All told, seven Falcons had more than one reception, and another came away with one.

Despite some early flashes, Seattle’s run game again sputtered. Russel Wilson was the team’s leading rusher, carrying the ball six times for 49 yards. Thomas Rawls came away with 11 carries for 34 yards, and Alex Collins carried twice for 14 yards.

The big bright spot in Seattle’s postseason run continued to be the emergence of receiver Paul Richardson, who caught four passes for 83 yards. Doug Baldwin hauled in five passes for 80 yards, while Jimmy Graham mostly a non-factor with three receptions for 22 yards.