Archive: 'Frustration 15' -- the things that went wrong against Seattle in NFC title game
On the heels of a remarkable playoff battle in Dallas that sent the Packers to their first NFC Championship game since ... well, you know ... here's a look back at the things that went wrong in that game? For a happier note, check out the list of all the things that went right against Dallas in another memorable playoff contest. Here's a look back to perhaps the darkest day in Packers history -- Jan. 18, 2015.
As you sit down to watch the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, you will doubtless be wondering once again just how the Green Bay Packers aren't playing in the game, two weeks removed from a stunning loss to the Seattle Seahawks. My personal contention is that Mike McCarthy's playcalling wasn't to blame, since the game plan had the Packers within a heartbeat of the big game, assuming they didn't make a stupid mistake.
But guess what happened? It's never just one play that keeps a team from a win, but there are usually some that stand out more than others. Taking everything into account, take a look at the 15 things that could have gone differently - a list so frustrating because any one of these things could have gone the other way and yielded a Super Bowl berth. In order of impact on the 28-22 overtime loss in the NFC Championship game:
1. Brandon Bostick (2:07/4th quarter). Though it's a stretch to say the game was definitively over if this play happens differently, it seems supremely likely that the Packers win if Bostick either follows instructions or makes a simple catch. Bostick, who was supposed to block on an onside kick attempt so Jordy Nelson could snag the ball, instead elected to elevate for the bounced kick and botched an easy grab, allowing Seattle to recover and set up for a go-ahead touchdown. Seattle had one timeout remaining, which means it could have stopped the clock in addition to using the 2-minute warning, meaning the Packers would have been guaranteed only one play to burn 40 additional seconds off the game clock. That would have left, in a worst-case scenario for Green Bay, 1:20 on the clock for Seattle with no timeouts left. In reality, the Seahawks probably would have had less time - perhaps somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 seconds - to stage a final drive that would have begun as far back as Green Bay could have punted the ball. Had Green Bay secured a first down after grabbing the onside kick, the Packers would have mathematically won the game.
2. Clinton-Dix gets lost (1:25/4th). After Seattle scored to take a 20-19 lead, it went for the 2-point conversion. Quarterback Russell Wilson was flushed out of the pocket by two pursuing defenders, and Wilson threw an off-balance pop-up toward the end zone. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who had two interceptions in the game, appeared to pause in the end zone and completely miss the toss until it was too late, and tight end Luke Willson was able to make a catch even though Clinton-Dix was in clear position to break up the play. There's no telling how the subsequent defensive series changes if Seattle only has a 1-point lead, but assuming Mason Crosby still kicks his field goal with time winding down, the Packers would have still won if Clinton-Dix makes the seemingly routine play.
3. No mas (5:13/4th). It's a play that has become increasingly considered the biggest moment of the game. Taking a snap from the Green Bay 39 in a 19-7 game, Wilson threw over the middle, where Micah Hyde forced a deflected ball off the hands of Jermaine Kearse that landed in the arms of Morgan Burnett. Burnett goes down, encouraged by veteran lineman Julius Peppers with the now-infamous "no mas" signal to slide (thus killing the play, with the belief that Green Bay could milk the rest of the clock). Aerial footage later showed that Burnett had a ton of open field to run, perhaps enough to score a knockout blow touchdown. That's speculative, but at the very least, he could have put the Packers much closer to a dagger score, as with so much time remaining, it seemed an odd choice to take the foot off the gas. Instead, the Packers went 3-and-out on the ensuing series and gave Seattle the ball back for the first of its two quick scoring drives.
4. Two troubled linebackers (4:50/3rd). Two of Green Bay's most-maligned players both had a role in one of the game's biggest plays. On 4th down from the Green Bay 19, Seattle lined up for a field goal, but punter Jon Ryan grabbed the snap, rolled out and threw a touchdown pass to wide open Garry Gilliam. The fake field goal gave Seattle its first points of the game and pulled it to within 16-7. It was later revealed the Seahawks were only going to run the play if Brad Jones was on the field, since the Seahawks knew he frequently played kicks too aggressively and allowed an opportunity for the punter to elude the rush to his left. AJ Hawk, perhaps the No. 2 target of Packers fans' vitriol, behind Jones, also made the incorrect choice to chase after the ball-carrying punter instead of staying with Gilliam in coverage (though it seemed like a tough call). Gilliam, an offensive lineman reported as eligible for the play, would not have been a difficult challenge for Hawk to handle in coverage.
5. Coin toss (start of OT). Obviously there's nothing anyone can do about the dumb luck of a coin toss. But if the Packers win the toss, they get the ball instead of Seattle, and the Seahawks touchdown drive never happens.
6. Jump and a heave (11:23/1st). Before the Packers "took the points" on consecutive drives that ended in field goals despite close proximity to the goal line, Aaron Rodgers threw a rare interception in the end zone, a pick off by Richard Sherman. But the most frustrating aspect of the play was that it appeared Seattle defensive lineman Michael Bennett jumped off sides, and Aaron Rodgers likely felt he had a free play to take a shot at the end zone. But there was no flag, and the play stood.
7. Third and Nineteen (6:51/3rd). For a fan base that continues to reel from the famed "4th and 26" play of 2004, it was yet another blow to the psyche when Seattle was pinned in a 2nd and 31 situation, then 3rd and 19. Green Bay rushed three linemen (really two, with one serving as a "spy" to stop a scrambling Russell Wilson) and didn't get any pressure on the quarterback, who was able to find Doug Baldwin for 29 yards and a first down. Clay Matthews committed a penalty on the play that would have awarded Seattle a first down anyway, so it was all around a terrible moment in a drive that ended on the fake field goal touchdown.
8. Starks reminder (11:11/4th). The Packers were on the drive in the fourth quarter and Rodgers made a rare throw outside the pocket, lofting a ball to James Starks that glanced off his outstretched hands. It would have resulted in a touchdown, and it appears Starks had the edge to make the catch and simply didn't reel it in. Green Bay wound up settling for a field goal to take a 19-7 lead.
9. Lacy doesn't see it (0:30/4th). On the final Packers drive, when Aaron Rodgers successfully completed a string of passes and runs for a first down on the Seattle 36-yard line, a miscommunication with running back Eddie Lacy on a screen pass resulted in an incomplete pass. Had Rodgers been healthy instead of nursing a sore calf, he likely would have been able to run for a chunk of yardage. On the next play, Rodgers tries a sideline pass that falls incomplete to Richard Rodgers, and then completed a short pass to Jordy Nelson for 6 yards. If Lacy hahd seen the ball, he also appears to have been in position to get at least another 10 yards. Perhaps the play, if executed, inspires the Packers to take a shot at the end zone. They never do, settling for a game-tying field goal that forces overtime.
10. Overtime conversion (12:29/OT). The Packers had Seattle on its own 30 in a 3rd and 6 situation, but Wilson was able to find Doug Baldwin creeping behind the Packers secondary for a 35-yard completion. Casey Heyward was beaten in press coverage, part of a rough game for Heyward. The first down sets up the game-winning touchdown pass for 35 yards to Jermaine Kearse.
11. Third time not the charm (7:11/4th). It feels unfair to pick on Clinton-Dix on a day when he had two huge interceptions, but the third one in the middle of the fourth quarter went right through his hands and would have probably yielded a touchdown. Seattle ultimately punted on the drive, but the game would have been all but over if he could have just sealed it there. Instead, Green Bay took the ball at its own 13 and went nowhere.
12. Taunting (10:37/1st). In the midst of a first quarter that could have yielded far more points, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix intercepted a deflected pass by Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson that he returns inside the 5-yard line. However, defensive lineman Mike Daniels was penalized 15 yards for taunting after he got in the face of a Seattle offensive lineman out of bounds, which forced Green Bay to start on the 19 instead of the 4. The drive stalled and ultimately ended in a field goal.
13. Jordy drops it (5:53/1st). Following a special teams turnover, Aaron Rodgers threw a 2nd-and-goal pass to Jordy Nelson, a route that has yielded numerous successful completions. This time, the timing was just off, and Jordy got a hand on it but couldn't complete what appeared to be a surefire touchdown. Green Bay settled for the field goal for a second consecutive red-zone opportunity that ends with just 3 points.
14. Where was Clay? In one of the stranger storylines following the game, many fans and writers have noted that linebacker Clay Matthews, considered by many to be the team's best defender, was on the sideline for the final drive of regulation and also at other points in the late game. Matthews struggled with a couple bad penalties in the game, but speculation is that he was not injured and either took himself out or was taken out, perhaps for concussion evaluation. The maneuver simply hasn't been explained. It's key because Seattle's offense didn't click until the late stages.
15. Calf enough. Perhaps nothing looms larger in the big picture than the calf injury sustained by Aaron Rodgers. Initially incurred in a 20-3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Rodgers was able to gut through a loss to Buffalo and a crucial win over Detroit to secure a one-week bye in the playoffs, though he left the game for a stretch to receive treatment. He was visibly limited in the playoff opener against Dallas but led his team to a thrilling win. Against Seattle, he was limited again, and though he found a way to get Green Bay one play away from a Super Bowl, it seems reasonable to say the Packers would have had more points on the board if Rodgers were healthy.
Extra: Taking the Points. Much has been made about Mike McCarthy's play calling, including the decision to skip fourth-down tries near the goal line for field-goal attempts. Though both field goal attempts were successful, it stands to reason the Packers could have at least split those opportunities and emerged with 7 points instead of 6. That one point would have made the difference in a game that went to overtime, though Seattle would have attempted a second onside kick and passed on going for 2 in the final moments of the game.