By CHRIS HAVEL
The Green Bay Packers can’t be faulted for their preparation, intensity or effort. On the other hand, their selfish, sloppy and in some instances stupid mistakes were inexcusable.
The Packers fell to the Seahawks 28-22 in overtime in Sunday’s NFC Championship at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field.
This game was lost before then. The Packers played well enough, and in some cases sensationally enough, to position themselves to knock out the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks in their own house.
That’s when playing not to lose, rather than staying aggressive and not letting up, allowed Seattle’s quarterback, Russell Wilson, to regain his senses and the defense to find its swagger. The Packers (13-5) led 19-7 with less than five minutes to play. They had the football after Packers safety Morgan Burnett notched Green Bay’s fourth interception of the game.
Despite all of that, and a silenced 12th Man to boot, the Packers couldn’t seal the deal. Seattle racked up three straight touchdowns on its final three possessions to stage one of the most stunning rallies in NFL postseason history.
The final blow was Wilson’s 35-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse with 11:41 to play in overtime. The Seahawks (14-4) will face the AFC Champion New England Patriots (14-4) in Super Bowl XLIX Feb. 1 in Glendale, Arizona.
Wilson targeted Kearse five times before hitting on the game winner. Wilson had been picked off four of those times. If Wilson-to-Kearse made the Packers’ heartbreak official, it was Jon Ryan-to-Garry Gilliam that started the Seahawks’ late surge. Ryan, the Packers’ ex-punter, hit Gilliam, an offensive lineman, with a 19-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down fake field goal midway through the third quarter.
The Packers’ special teams unit was totally unaware and caught off-guard. That gaffe alone should force Packers head coach Mike McCarthy to consider firing special teams’ coordinator Shawn Slocum. If McCarthy insists on having Slocum on his staff, he better be ready to cover for Slocum’s deficiencies. If he can’t, Slocum has to go.
To not recognize the possibility of a Seahawks fake at that point, in that position of the field, was ridiculous. The Seahawks were facing a difficult either-or decision on fourth down. However, there wasn’t the least bit of hesitation as the Seahawks trotted out their kicker. That should’ve been the Packers’ first clue. The second should have been the fact that Seattle’s offense was utterly ineffective.
How else was Seattle going to score points if not on a fake?
That, coupled with the inability to recover Seattle’s onside kick was inexcusable. Backup tight end Brandon Bostick was supposed to block so Jordy Nelson could recover the onside kick. Instead, he elected to jump in the air and recover it himself. He failed to gather it in, and the Seahawks recovered and quickly scored to make it 22-19 Seattle with less than two minutes to play.
At that point, McCarthy finally took off the handcuffs and allowed Aaron Rodgers to throw it. He quickly moved Green Bay into position for Mason Crosby’s game-tying 48-yard field goal with 14 seconds left. It was Crosby’s fifth and final field goal of the day.
Has there ever been a more anti-climactic feel to a 48-yard field goal that sends the Packers into overtime?
Seattle won the coin toss (who the E$@#%$ calls tails anyway?) and the Seahawks put the Packers and their fans out of misery 3:19 later.
“It’s going to be a missed opportunity that I’ll probably think about for the rest of my career,” Rodgers said. “We were the better team today – we played well enough to win. We can’t blame anybody but ourselves.”
In fact, the Packers played well enough to win for about 55 minutes, but they weren’t the better team. That’s because the defense and coordinator Dom Capers caved in after the Packers’ special teams opened the door.
Seattle scored touchdowns on its final three possessions to win it. The Seahawks’ 16-point comeback was the largest in conference championship game history.
“I felt our football team was a special group,” McCarthy said. “They’ve been great all year. This is a hard one to swallow.”
McCarthy almost seemed in shock after the game. During the final five minutes, his team played as if the seconds couldn’t tick off fast enough.
Meantime, Seattle rallied to victory and a second-straight Super Bowl berth. They can send the Packers a thank-you card when they get time.
Chris Havel is a national best-selling author and his latest book is Lombardi: An Illustrated Life. Havel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4-6 p.m. CDT on WDUZ FM 107.5 The Fan, or on AM-1400, as well as Fan Internet Radio (www.thefan1075.com). Havel also hosts Event USA’ MVP Parties the evening before home games.
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"Kudos to Amy for making sure that the tickets to the tailgate party were waiting for me at the reception desk! Your personal phone call and text messages went above and beyond customer satisfaction! I can't wait for the 2024 season, rest assured that my go-to Packer's game supplier will be Event USA for a long time.
-Jean-Pierre Mallette, Montréal, Canada
"Thank you so much Cathy, greatly appreciate your help.
As always, EventUSA has been awesome to deal with in booking the Lodge Kohler package for the Tampa Bay Game,
particularly for me traveling from Sydney, Australia, it takes the stress out of the booking process. "
-Kayle
"Good Morning, Nicole - Everything you did turned out great. The seats were great. Access to the air conditioned club lounge was great. Lots of Packers fans in the club lounge and overall at the stadium. The tailgate party at the fancy restaurant in the hotel was fabulous. The servers just kept on bringing out different sliders and desserts. Good thing that I got in a 30-minute run along the river in the morning. So, thank you! You may be speaking with me in November if I can work out getting up to Green Bay for a game. It's been too long since my last time.
One of the best aspects of this weekend was interacting with so many people from Wisconsin and learning their personal stories of things Packers. And we even met a couple from St. Petersburg, Florida (my home county) and were able to tell them about the Varsity Club tavern and Packers bar in Clearwater where Mark Murphy's mother is in attendance -- very nice lady whose retirement home is in Clearwater, which borders my little city of Dunedin. Pre-COVID, I always went to the Varsity when the Packers games weren't televised locally -- lots of Wisconsin natives there, too + they serve brats and sauerkraut during Packers games. I'm glad that you are working for Event USA.
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-- Martin Lawyer, Dunedin, Florida
"Dennis - I was blessed to join Amy and some of your customers at the Morton's tailgate as well as after the game. She does an amazing job for you. Every single customer I met praised Event USA for being able to arrange the hotel and tickets and fabulous tailgate party in such a quick time. Having been to some great tour tailgate parties in Jacksonville and Kansas City and old San Francisco, a lot can be said of the long-term benefit of having really great tailgate parties. Morton's was probably one of the best - amazing food, patio sitting on the riverfront, walk to stadium, open bar!!! It was first class fun!!!"
-Matt
"Hi Amy-
Just wanted to say thank you for making Jacksonville happen! We had a wonderful time and looking forward to more Packers games with Event USA in the future!
Even though the game was not what we expected- we are packers fans for life-lol!
Go pack go!!"
-Julie Mastrianni
"I want to thank Event USA and in particular Amy Flores for the Jacksonville trip. We have used you before and always were very pleased with the packages you have set up and your service.
My son who lives in Charleston, SC and myself who lives in Minnesota, decided we needed to do a guys trip and decided to go through your company to see the opener in New Orleans. I initially called and talked with Amy about some questions I had and booked our trip. After itinerary and info was emailed to us, it soon became apparent that the trip to New Orleans wouldn’t happen. In steps Amy, wondering if we would be interested in Dallas if the game was moved there and a package was set up. Then finally the move to Jacksonville and continued communication from Amy on our interest. It was getting late at that point and I was wondering if she would be able to pull off setting up a package in Jacksonville. She did it.
We went to Jacksonville and had a great time. The accommodations and the tail gate were fabulous. If only the Packer team we were hoping for had made the trip.
Thank you Event USA and in particular Amy Flores."
-Tom Sohrweide, White Bear Lake, MN
"Thank you for all your help. I had a great time at the Packer-Raider game opening day. I have already begun telling interested Packer fans in Sacramento about your service. The next time I come to Green Bay for a game, I’ll be sure to ask for your help. God bless you and God bless the Green Bay Packers."
-Frank Chavez, Sacramento
"I just wanted to say that I had such a great time. The whole weekend was so much fun. I enjoyed the Player Autograph Party and the tailgate party was just the best. After coming from a country that loves soccer, it was nice to mix with people who have the same interests as me. Thank you once again, Green Bay is one very special place."
-Beverley Moore, Lancaster
"My accommodations at the Best Western Midway were excellent. I was picked up at the airport and returned promptly. No problems at all. Your representative at the hotel on game day was very pleasant and helpful. The tailgate party was super, great food, great drinks and lots of fun. Obviously, Lambeau Field and the game itself was great. I will continue to use Event USA in the future, and I will definitely tell anyone who I come across to give you a call. One last thing, the hospitality I experienced in Green Bay was incredible. I have traveled to many places, and I don’t think there are more friendly people than the people of Green Bay. Thank you again and see you next year!"
-David Anastas, Worchester
"My wife and I booked the tour to Tampa. The trip was so well organized from start to finish. It started with the people in the office with their friendly help over the phone, to receiving the tickets in the mail, and meeting the tour guides with their upbeat personalities. Signs guided us in the airport and information was posted in our motel lobbies to keep us posted. Your people had everything in order. Talk about organization, you had it. Event USA made this a most memorable trip. Thanks for all involved."
-Dick Koerner, Neenah
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-Lara and Matt Appleton, Thornhill, Ontario
"Thanks for all your help, the great tickets and service, and the chance to help me make one of my son’s dreams come true, seeing the Packers playing at home in Lambeau Field."
-Sam Jones, Sedalia
"I just want to thank you for the wonderful job your staff did last weekend for the Packers vs. Lions game. This was our first time utilizing your program and we were not disappointed at all. In fact, we can’t wait to schedule and event for next season’s games. From my first experience with your staff placing my order until the very end at checkout of the hotel, everything was perfect. You truly out-do yourselves to please everyone. Thanks again for making our stay in Green Bay one of the best."
-Kim Ewing and Bruce DeMaine, Ann Arbor
"Thanks so much for the best weekend ever! You not only got us in all the Magazines, TV, WWW pages and even the big screen at Lambeau Field, but Disney World on the side? Nice job – You and your family are top notch – we were on the best tour for the Super Bowl! Seeing the Green Bay Packers win back the Lombardi Trophy was a life long dream of this Packer fan, and you all were so dedicated to the job of taking care of us that, like the Packers, we were a winning team! Keep me on your list."
-William D Lorge, Representative to the Wisconsin State Assembly