A timeline of the weird history between the Packers and Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are especially prone to weirdness. That’s a product of the Seahawks playing in more dramatic games than any other team in the NFL. In the last eight seasons, they’ve been part of a league-most 82 games decided by one score.

Play in that many close games and you’re bound to have some memorable finishes.

And no team has been a better dance partner for peak wackiness than the Green Bay Packers. The two franchises have only met 23 times ever — largely because the Seahawks were in the AFC until 2002 — and 14 of those matchups have happened in the last 16 years, including four in the postseason.

Seattle was as maddening as ever in 2019 with 12 of its 16 regular season games decided by eight points or fewer. Even a 17-9 win against the Eagles on Wild Card Weekend was unnecessarily close with Carson Wentz sidelined for the majority of the game.

The Packers haven’t exactly been blowing out teams, either. Despite a 13-3 record, the team finished the regular season No. 18 in offense and No. 18 in defense.

All that meant the Divisional Round meeting is ripe for chaos with the SB Nation panel of experts struggling to decide which team to pick. Oddsmakers think the game will be close and bettors are jumping on the Seahawks as an underdog. And it did end up coming down to the wire, even if the Packers led all game.

It wasn’t even close to the wildest in Seahawks-Packers history, though. Here’s a timeline of barnburners between the two teams:

The first ever postseason meeting between the Seahawks and Packers was also one of the few close games the two teams had played to that point. The three matchups prior were all decided by at least 20 points, making a 20-14 Seahawks win in 1990 their last halfway-decent contest.

In 2003, the Packers and Seahawks both finished the season with double-digit wins and faced off in the Wild Card Round. It not only promised to be a quality game, but it actually lived up to the hype.

Brett Favre and Matt Hasselbeck both threw for more than 300 yards, while running backs Ahman Green and Shaun Alexander traded scores. Green ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to give the Packers a late lead. Alexander’s third touchdown of the day tied the game back up in the final minute of regulation.

The most memorable moment of the game wasn’t even a play, though. It was the overtime coin toss. That’s when Hasselbeck (a former Packers quarterback, no less) provided the ultimate “Icarus flying too close to the sun” quote. After winning the toss, he confidently told the official, “We want the ball and we’re gonna score.” Of course, you can guess how that turned out:

Hasselbeck’s hubris immediately came back to bite him when Al Harris jumped a route and returned an interception 52 yards for a game-winning touchdown. The Packers went on to lose in the next round to the Eagles, but at least they gave us something that’s still hilarious 16 years later.

The first-ever Seahawks home game with snow came on Monday Night Football against a team accustomed to playing in the cold. While the Seahawks had playoff aspirations with a 6-4 record, it was year one of Mike McCarthy’s tenure in Green Bay and the Packers entered just 4-6.

It was Green Bay that jumped out to an early lead, though.

Hasselbeck returned after missing four games due to a leg injury and didn’t have a great start against the team that became his nemesis two years earlier. He turned the ball over four times in the first half, with three interceptions and one fumble.

In the third quarter, the Packers had a 21-12 lead, and then Hasselbeck flipped a switch. He threw three touchdowns in the last 22 minutes to lead Seattle to a 34-24 win. It wasn’t exactly a crazy ending, but Hasselbeck exorcised some Packers demons in the comeback win.

A labor dispute between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association meant replacement officials — taken from high school, lower-level college divisions, the Arena Football League, and the Legends Football League — were hired to fill the void. Unsurprisingly, they made plenty of mistakes.

The world seemed to forget that the NFL’s usual team of officials does that too, albeit to a lesser degree. Still, the tidal wave of criticism eventually forced the NFL to yield to the demands of the NFLRA and agree to a new collective bargaining agreement.

The final straw was the last play of a Monday Night Football contest between the Packers and Seahawks.

Green Bay had a 12-7 lead in the final seconds of the game, but Seattle’s rookie quarterback Russell Wilson was trying to lead his team down the field for a game-winning touchdown. A 22-yard pass to Sidney Rice got the Seahawks to the Packers’ 24-yard line, and then three consecutive incomplete passes left Seattle with no choice but to throw for the end zone.

Wilson lobbed a ball into a mass of six players and both Seahawks receiver Golden Tate and Packers safety M.D. Jennings caught the ball. They both came down wrestling for the ball, although Jennings appeared to have slightly more control of it.

One official standing next to the pile signaled it was a touchdown. The other said it was an interception and a touchback. After a conference among the officials, the play was ruled a touchdown and a replay review confirmed the call.

The Seahawks won, 14-12, and two days later the NFL’s regular officials were officially welcomed back.

The result proved to be an important one. While Seattle would’ve wound up with fifth seed in the NFC regardless, Green Bay ended up one win short of a first-round bye in the playoffs. That spot instead went to the 49ers, who — after a week off — eliminated the Packers in the Divisional Round.

Damn you, replacement refs (even though it was probably the right call).

Green Bay appeared to be headed to Super Bowl 49 when it had a 19-7 lead with less than three minutes left in the NFC Championship Game. The Seahawks’ only points in the first three quarters came when punter Jon Ryan threw a 19-yard touchdown to offensive tackle Garry Gilliam on a fake field goal.

Russell Wilson, on the other hand, had four interceptions.

But with just over two minutes left, Wilson finally led the Seahawks down the field. He hit a 26-yard pass down the sideline to Marshawn Lynch that got Seattle in the red zone. Then Wilson finished the drive himself with a 1-yard rushing touchdown.

The Seahawks recovered the ensuing onside kick and needed just four plays to score. Lynch broke free on a 24-yard touchdown — one of his many spectacular playoff moments — that gave Seattle the lead with 1:33 remaining. In a matter of 40 seconds, the Seahawks turned a 19-7 deficit into a 22-19 lead.

The Packers drove the field in the final minute to tie the game up and force overtime. However, the Seahawks won the coin toss and Green Bay never touched the ball again. On the first possession of overtime, Wilson ended the game with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse.

The Packers never trailed a Divisional Round game against Seattle. That didn’t mean it wasn’t a stressful finish, though.

The Seahawks clawed back from a 28-10 deficit and got the ball back with just under five minutes remaining. When the drive stalled around midfield, Seattle punted and hoped it could get a stop.

First, Aaron Rodgers connected with Davante Adams for a 32-yard gain on a third down. Then he found Jimmy Graham for a 9-yard gain on another third down. The latter was marked juuust across the line to gain.

After an official review stuck with the call, the Packers were able to kneel out the remaining clock.

The 2020 Divisional Round matchup between Green Bay and Seattle was just the latest chapter in an under-the-radar rivalry that has produced several of the NFL’s most iconic moments of the 21st century.