2014 NFL playoffs, Saints vs. Seahawks: Seattle hangs on to advance to NFC Championship

You know about Beast Quake.

You might have also known that during this year’s first Seahawks-Saints matchup, the Seahawks fans caused another earthquake.

Harvin was belted on the first series of the game on a helmet-to-helmet hit, but returned to action and finished out the first quarter. However, Harvin took another hard shot in the following quarter and left with a concussion, obviously not returning.

• SB Nation’s 2014 NFL playoff coverage and brackets

No scoring occurred in the third quarter, as Seattle’s defense held strong even as its offense sputtered. Early in the fourth, Khiry Robinson’s one-yard touchdown run, followed by Mark Ingram’s two-point conversion, brought the game to within one score, but Lynch seemingly put the game out of reach with a 31-yard touchdown run with fewer than three minutes to play.

Jacson Bevens of Seahawks blog Field Gulls praised Lynch, who had a tremendous game for Seattle and was largely responsible for the win.

Lynch finished the Divisional round contest with 140 yards rushing and two touchdowns, breaking the Seahawks’ playoff record of 132 yards which he previously shared with Shaun Alexander. It wasn’t just a case of Lynch running for a lot of yards; he put the entire team and city on his back in a game that appeared to be slipping out of Seattle’s hands.

• SB Nation’s 2014 NFL playoff coverage and brackets

It’s also not the first time he’s struggled in Seattle. The last time the Saints played the Seahawks in Seattle, Brees had a poor outing to be sure. That game was a 34-7 victory for the Seahawks, and featured a yards per attempt stat of 3.87 for Brees. For a quarterback that has busted yardage records in the past, that’s incredibly low.

When Brees and the Seahawks faced off in New Orleans in 2010, Brees completed 29 passes for 382 yards with four touchdowns against two interceptions. He had a yards per attempt of 8.88 and the Saints won that game, 34-19.

The move for Colston seemed obvious: step out of bounds and let the Saints run a final desperation heave. Instead ...

The first problem here is that they didn’t need to go into AHHHH AHHHH AHHHH MIRACLE mode. There was ample time left.

The NFC Championship will be the late game on Sunday Jan. 19, with kickoff in Seattle scheduled at 6:30 p.m. ET. It will be the second time Seattle has hosted an NFC Championship. The Seahawks beat Carolina in the 2005 NFC Championship.

Click to enlarge and for SB Nation’s complete 2014 postseason coverage.

Marshawn Lynch has torched the Saints yet again on Saturday. His first touchdown run was vintage beast mode up the middle, but his late 31-yard touchdown run went around the edge to break it open and likely finished off the Saints. The first run prompted the usual Skittles shower, but busting a long one in the final three minutes is deserving of ALL of the damn skittles, packaged neatly in this Skittlesbomb.

Skittles.

The initial hit that forced Harvin from the field was correctly flagged for unnecessary roughness and the wide receiver was examined on the sideline. Team doctors took his helmet, Harvin went to the locker room for concussion evaluation and it seemed that his day was done.

Less than 10 minutes later, after missing only three offensive plays, Harvin was surprisingly back on the field for the next series. This prompted questions as to whether he had been fully and correctly evaluated under the league’s post-concussion protocol. League rules mandate a battery of tests take place, which the NFL estimates should take between 8-12 minutes. Harvin returned to the field very quickly, even for the fast side of the league’s projection.

• SB Nation’s 2014 NFL playoff coverage and brackets

• Beast Quake: The greatest TD run in NFL playoff history

The order may differ depending on your preference, but Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh are definitely the top two giffable NFL coaches. Harbaugh is usually captured losing his mind reacting to a call, while Carroll is usually the subject of some smug strutting. Carroll has been relatively muted during the Seahawks dominating first half against the Saints, but there was a moment when he gleefully took in the pelting rain upon his face:

With another half to go, this could just be the start of the Pete Carroll postseason library.

Presented without further comment -- Lynch being pelted with Skittles by Seahawks fans:

Initially it appeared Harvin would not return after he took a hit up high and slammed into the turf. Reports from the field indicated that Harvin had his helmet taken from him by team doctors, and was taken to the locker room to undergo concussion tests. However, he missed one offensive series before returning.

Harvin was attempting to catch a deep pass on third down when he was met with a high shot that drew a penalty and forced the receiver to leave the field. The hit was so violent that it knocked out Harvin’s mouthguard:

It’s rainy in Seattle, which means the ball is slippery, which means no one is safe:

Good on Thomas Morstead for catching that anyway, and good on whoever invented those pouch fannypack things football players wear. They do much more than warm your hands.

Uy Tieu [12:07 PM]:

Whattttt the FFFffff!

Seattle’s Percy Harvin, who has only played in one game all season while battling offseason hip surgery, has been listed as active and will be on the field for the first time since Week 11.

• SB Nation’s 2014 NFL playoff coverage and brackets

Marshawn Lynch hit up Seattle classic (and Seahawks favorite) Top Pot Donuts for breakfast Saturday morning. A lot of people did. The rest of them, though, weren’t driving a Lamborghini AND wearing a “FUCK YOU” sweatshirt:

Nope, just Marshawn. You can’t just acquire BeastQuake fuel in a regular car and a regular sweatshirt. That’s not how it works.

Harvin finally returned to practice during the team’s bye week and was listed as probable for Saturday’s game. It’s unknown how much action he will get, but he plans on returning kickoffs and hopes to play without any limitations. Harvin’s presence creates a matchup problem for the Saints defense with his unique open field ability.

SB Nation’s James Dator looked at Harvin’s potential impact and concluded that he’s one of the biggest wild cards to account for:

Game Date/Time and Location: Saturday, Jan. 11, 4:35 p.m. ET at CenturyLink Field, Seattle

TV: FOX

We are in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs and while brutal arctic air is not expected for any of these games this weekend, weather could play a roll for the first two games of the weekend. New Orleans visits Seattle in Washington State and Indianapolis heads to New England and Foxborough, Massachusetts, and both games are played on the complete opposite side of the country, the weather for both games will be very similar. The weather forecast is very wet and windy for both games this afternoon and evening.

For the Saints/Seahawks game a strong Pacific storm system will bring rain and possible thunderstorms. Winds will be very strong between 20 and 30 mph and could gust up to 45 mph. In New England, a storm system moves through the region during the afternoon evening. Steady to moderately heavy rain is likely as winds will be out of the southwest and could gust 35 to 45 mph later tonight.

Regardless of prior history, when you get to this point in a sudden-death tournament, every game is interesting, and the way the two teams match up with each other becomes the main focus, in my mind. Who has the edge? Which team matches up better? Does one team’s approach and identity favor it over the other? What trumps? Power running or high-octane passing? Stout defense or electrifying offense? Tough to say.

Going even deeper than that, what specific matchups have the potential to put one team over the top? Which players are the X-factor in each game? In a group of teams that now makes up the Elite Eight of the NFL, it’s hard to choose just one for each game, but here goes.

The NFL season is down to only eight teams fighting for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, with 16 grueling regular season weeks and a round of playoffs in the books.

A few of the remaining playoff teams should come as no shock, while others have stunned even their own fan bases by advancing to the Divisional round. After this weekend, only four teams will be left standing, and perhaps there will have been a few more upsets.

As enormous fans of Popeyes, we’ve been covering the Saints’ ongoing fried chicken-fueled playoff run. After eating Popeyes on the road during the 2009 season, when they won the Super Bowl -- and consequently losing three road playoff games in which they were not given Popeyes -- the Saints have Louisiana’s premier fast foodstuff on their side again. This is last week in the locker room in Philly:

Now, the President of Popeyes Chicken tells TMZ Sports ... the company is putting the entire weight of the Louisiana-based organization behind the Saints and have provided them with 375 pieces of chicken to hold the guys over during the flight from N.O. to Seattle. “As a direct result [of Popeyes chicken], they won their first playoff road game,” the President tells us ... adding, “They have a 100% win rate in the playoffs when they eat Popeyes.” We’re told the guys will be getting 125 three-piece meals (90 spicy meals, 35 mild) which include mashed potatoes and cajun gravy, red beans and rice, and biscuits.They sent it in an ARMORED TRUCK: