The Seattle Seahawks got the best of the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Round at Century Link Field. The Seahawks dominated, particularly in the fourth quarter, and won 26-6.
Lions vs. Seahawks 2017 final score: Seattle blows past Detroit to advance to Divisional Round
Seattle’s Thomas Rawls ran all over Detroit to help lock up the win.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
Russell Wilson finished the game with 224 passing yards and two touchdowns. Wilson was under constant pressure from the Lions, and Detroit sacked him three times. Running back Thomas Rawls took some pressure off, though, with a dominant performance
Rawls had 161 yards and one touchdown in the win. His yards on the ground were enough to surpass Marshawn Lynch’s previous single-game total for a new franchise record.
Stafford wasn’t terribly productive through the air, either, finishing with 205 yards and no touchdowns. The difference was in the running game. The Lions were only able to manage 49 yards on the ground against a stout Seahawks front.
The Lions fought their way to eight late-game comeback wins during the regular season, but they couldn’t get it done against the Seahawks.
The Seahawks were only able to sack Stafford once, but they routinely brought pressure and disrupted his game. A couple of big drops from Lions receivers didn’t help. Seattle also limited Detroit to converting just two of 11 third downs.
Seattle dominated time of possession, with just 23:21 to Seattle’s 36:39.
The Seahawks were also helped along by a couple of questionable no-calls. First, wide receiver Paul Richardson made the catch of the year, hauling in a one-handed contested touchdown. The only problem was that he did it while grasping a defender’s face mask, which officials admitted later should have been a penalty.
On a Thomas Rawls run, quarterback Russell Wilson should have also been called for a block in the back. It wasn’t a huge hit, but it was a clear foul, and it sprang Rawls for a few extra yards.
Many fans may not have heard of Paul Richardson before Saturday, but they’ll remember his name going forward. Richardson had a huge day. In addition to his circus catch for a touchdown early in the game, he had 48 total receiving yards and had another late-game one-handed 27-yard catch for a key third-down conversion late in the game.
With the win, Seattle advances to the Divisional Round and will face the Falcons on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 4:35 p.m. in Atlanta.
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