NFL Game Summary - Green Bay at Seattle
(Monday, September 24th)
Final Score: Seattle 14, Green Bay 12
Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - Golden Tate was ruled to have come down with a
Hail Mary pass in the back of the end zone on the final play of regulation to
give the Seattle Seahawks a 14-12 victory over the Green Bay Packers on
Monday.
Green Bay's M.D. Jennings appeared to have the ball clutched to his chest with
Tate having just his arms on the ball while lying underneath the defender.
Two of the replacement officials raced over to the pile of players to make the
call, but one signaled interception while the other signaled for a touchdown.
The play was then ruled a touchdown, and video replay did not overturn the
call despite Jennings seeming to have control of the ball.
"I've never seen anything like that in all my years of football," Packers
coach Mike McCarthy said. "It was the most unusual football game I've ever
been a part of."
The catch was Tate's second score of the game. He finished with 68 yards on
three receptions.
Russell Wilson completed 10-of-21 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns for
Seattle (2-1). Marshawn Lynch carried the ball 25 times for 98 yards in the
win.
"It's time for this to be over. My hat's off to the these officials, they're
doing everything they can to do as well as they can, but it demonstrates how
difficult it is," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "It takes years and years
of experience to pull it off properly and in a timely fashion, and it's time
for it to be over. The league deserves it, everybody deserves it."
Aaron Rodgers went 26-for-39 through the air for 223 yards for the Packers
(1-2).
Cedric Benson finished with 45 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, while
Jermichael Finley paced all Green Bay receivers with 60 yards on four
receptions.
The Packers took their first lead of the game with 8:44 left in the contest
when Benson was able to just break the goal line from 1-yard out, making it a
12-7 contest following a failed two-point conversion.
Jerron McMillian intercepted a tipped Wilson pass on the first play of the
ensuing drive, but a roughing the passer penalty on the play gave the ball
back to Seattle.
The Seahawks were later faced with a 1st-and-25 at their own 43-yard line and
were able to get out of the hole with a defensive pass interference penalty on
Sam Shields, moving the ball to the Packers' 25.
After Lynch converted a 4th-and-2 with a 3-yard rush to place the ball inside
the red zone, Seattle was forced to try for another fourth-down
conversion, but Tate could not get a handle on a pass in the left corner of
the end zone to turn the ball over on downs with 1:54 remaining.
The Packers could not run out the clock, though, and Seattle regained
possession at the Green Bay 46-yard line with 46 seconds left to play.
Wilson hit Sidney Rice for a 22-yard gain on the second play of the drive to
move the ball deep into Packers territory, and Wilson would throw three
straight incompletions to set up the controversial finish.
"It was awful," Rodgers said about the final call. "Just look at the replay,
and then the fact that it was reviewed is awful."
The game remained scoreless in a defensive first half until Wilson kept a 5-
play, 73-yard scoring drive alive by converting a 3rd-and-4 from Seattle's 33-
yard line with a 7-yard scramble before finding Tate for a 41-yard touchdown
on a deep post on the right side of the field with 6:22 left in the second
quarter.
Green Bay, meanwhile, did not advance a drive further than the Seahawks' 49-
yard line over the first 30 minutes of action as Seattle's defense racked up
eight sacks on Rodgers, leaving Tate's touchdown grab as the lone score of the
first half.
The Packers used the ground game to get their offense going on the opening
possession of the third quarter, with Benson carrying the ball seven times for
34 yards during a 13-play march that moved Green Bay as far as the Seattle 10,
but the Packers could not punch the ball into the end zone and had to settle
for Mason Crosby's 29-yard field goal.
Following a three-and-out by Seattle, Rodgers found Finley for a 31-yard gain
to highlight an 11-play, 66-yard drive that was kept alive by an illegal hands
to the face penalty on Seattle's Brandon Browner during a failed third-down
conversion inside Seattle territory.
The Packers, however, again could not reach the end zone and Crosby's 40-yard
kick made it a 7-6 game with a little over a minute remaining in the third
quarter.
After another Seattle three-and-out, Green Bay marched right down the field to
take the lead. The Packers converted four third downs on the 16-play, 81-yard
drive, including one with a defensive pass interference penalty on a 3rd-and-2
at the Seattle 47.
The Packers first thought they took the lead on a Greg Jennings 11-yard
touchdown reception as he caught a short pass to the right and seemed to
stretch the ball across the goal line while being tackled, but a review showed
his foot went out of bounds before he crossed the plane and the ball was
placed at the 2-yard line.
Faced with a 3rd-and-1, Rodgers scrambled to his right and was initially
called down just short of the first-down marker, but Green Bay challenged the
spot and was awarded a 1st-and-goal at the one after the review, setting up
Benson's go-ahead score.
Game Notes
Seattle did not record a sack in the second half ... The Packers lead the all-
time series between the teams, 8-6 ... Rodgers fell to 2-1 in his career
against the Seahawks ... Lynch failed to break 100 yards rushing for the first
time in seven home games ... Seattle was penalized 14 times for 118 yards,
while Green Bay was penalized 10 times for 127.
09/25 01:53:23 ET
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