Seahawks fight way back to playoff relevancy with classic win, but lose Graham for season

SEATTLE – It wasn’t easy, but it was epic.

Russell Wilson threw five touchdowns and Seattle overcame a 456-yard performance by Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to beat the Steelers 39-30 and fight their way into the playoff hunt at CenturyLink Field on Sunday.

The bad news: Star tight end Jimmy Graham was knocked out for the rest of the regular season with a torn patella tendon.

In what will go down as one of the classic regular-season games ever played in Seattle, the Seahawks survived a high-stress affair that featured a whopping seven lead changes.

Wilson had a monster day on his birthday, completing 21 of 30 passes for 345 yards and throwing three touchdowns to Doug Baldwin and two to Jermaine Kearse.

A loss by the Atlanta Falcons left the Seahawks tied for the second NFC playoff spot at 6-5.

Marring the victory was Graham's injury, which he suffered early in the fourth quarter.

"We're gonna miss the heck out of him for the rest of the season," coach Pete Carroll said after the game.

Graham was hurt with 13:36 left in the fourth quarter after trying to grab a deep pass in the end zone from Wilson.

Graham landed awkwardly as he attempted to reach behind him to catch the pass. Graham immediately signaled for trainers and was in significant discomfort on the ground. Trainers placed an air cast on Graham's right leg and he was taken off the field on a cart.

Graham led Seattle with four catches for 75 yards against the Steelers, including a juggling 36-yard catch to set up a touchdown in the third quarter.