For the fifth straight season, the Seahawks are headed to the Divisional round. They will visit the Atlanta Falcons next Saturday, with kickoff set for 4:35 p.m. ET.
Lions vs. Seahawks 2017 live updates: Scores, highlights, and news from NFL playoffs
Seattle is headed to the Divisional round once again.
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Scoring updates
Final score: Seahawks 26, Lions 6
The Lions had been the comeback kings for most of the season, but the fourth quarter went from bad to worse for them. Thomas Rawls set a franchise record in the postseason with 161 rushing yards in a game, topping Marshawn Lynch’s record of 157 yards. Paul Richardson had another ridiculous catch, and then Doug Baldwin caught a pass with his butt:
And two players later, he stole a touchdown from his own teammate:
Seattle won its 10th straight playoff home game, and Detroit lost its 11th consecutive playoff road game.
Third quarter: Seahawks 10, Lions 6
On their first drive of the half, the Lions moved down the field with some help from Zach Zenner, who ran the ball three times and caught two passes for 29 yards. Matt Prater hit a 53-yard field goal to get the Lions closer, but the Seahawks put together a drive of their own, thanks in part to Russell Wilson’s block (or block in the back?) on a long Thomas Rawls run. They were in the red zone right when the quarter ended.
Halftime: Seahawks 10, Lions 3
On the first play of the second quarter, the Lions called a truly terrible play on fourth down, which gave the Seahawks great field position. Seattle rode Thomas Rawls down the field, and converted two fourth downs, including this remarkable touchdown from Paul Richardson — arguably the catch of the year (though he also got away with a facemask penalty):
Rawls led the way for the Seahawks with 107 yards on the ground in the first half. They tacked on a field goal on their next possession.
Matt Prater nailed a 51-yard field goal at the end of the half to get the Lions on the board.
First quarter: Lions 0, Seahawks 0
Both teams started off with quick three-and-outs. The Lions receivers dropped a couple passes and Ziggy Ansah and Haloti Ngata each sacked Russell Wilson. Lions center Graham Glasgow, filling in for usual starter Travis Swanson, snapped the ball funny.
Neither team even got close to the end zone, though the Lions found a bit of rhythm on offense before the quarter ended.
Before the game
Matthew Stafford hasn’t been the same since dislocating his finger in an early December win over the Bears. Perhaps not coincidentally, his Lions haven’t won a game since that fateful day. Detroit needs to reverse its fortunes and topple the Seahawks on the road to record the franchise’s first playoff win in 25 years.
The Lions are in the midst of a three-game losing streak and have gone 0-5 against fellow playoff participants this season. Stafford, once an MVP candidate, has fallen from “elite” to “average” since sustaining that injury to his throwing hand. He’ll have plenty to prove against one of the league’s toughest defenses when he heads to the Pacific Northwest on Saturday.
Seattle has its own questions to answer thanks to injury. The Seahawks have played .500 football since losing All-Pro safety Earl Thomas to a broken leg in a Dec 4. win over the Panthers. Thomas’s departure has allowed teams like the Packers and Cardinals to drop 34-plus points down the stretch as doubts formed around the 2014 Super Bowl champs.
Pete Carroll’s team still cruised to a division title in the NFC West, and a win Saturday could be the catalyst for another run to the biggest game in the sport. However, the Seahawks will need improvements beyond a defense recuperating from the loss of Thomas. Russell Wilson threw for more than 4,200 yards this fall despite dealing with injury early in the year, but still posted the worst quarterback rating and TD:INT ratio of his career. While Alex Collins has provided a solid change of pace in the backfield, Seattle’s running game (3.9 yards per carry) has given Wilson precious little offensive support.
But Wilson could be due for a big day in the Wild Card round. No team in the league has been worse against opposing quarterbacks than the Lions. Aaron Rodgers torched the Detroit secondary for 300 yards and four touchdowns in their last outing.
Both teams have something to prove after disappointing ends to the regular season. The Seahawks didn’t have much to play for after clinching the NFC West early in December, but narrowly avoided an 0-2 finish by barely fending off 2-14 San Francisco in Week 17. The Lions couldn’t overcome the combination of Stafford’s injury and a backloaded schedule as they lost their final three games.
Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET on Saturday night. The game will air on NBC and can be streamed on NBC Sports.
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