Seattle Seahawks players and coaches constantly harp on only worrying about things they can control.
But they escaped Minnesota with a 10-9 victory in large part because of something they had no control over: a missed 27-yard field goal by Vikings kicker Blair Walsh.
The Seahawks' defense took the field with 1:42 left and the team holding a 10-9 lead. But the Vikings drew a 19-yard pass interference penalty on Kam Chancellor. Tight end Kyle Rudolph then beat Chancellor for a 24-yard gain, and suddenly, the Vikings were in field goal range.
Everything was set up for Minnesota to pull off the upset, but Walsh's kick wasn't even close, hooking left of the upright. Instead of the Vikings exploding in celebration, it was the Seahawks. Cornerback Richard Sherman dropped to his knees in disbelief.
Now Seattle is headed to Carolina to take on the 15-1 Panthers in the divisional round.
The Seahawks entered the fourth quarter trailing 9-0, but everything went their way down the stretch.
Russell Wilson is fond of using the phrase find a way. That's what he did on a key fourth-quarter play that led to the Seahawks' first touchdown. Center Patrick Lewis snapped the ball before Wilson was ready, and it flew over the quarterback's left shoulder.
Wilson ran back, picked it up, scrambled and eventually found rookie wide receiver Tyler Lockett downfield. Lockett made the catch in the middle of the field and raced to his left for a 35-yard gain, the longest play of the game by either team.
Two plays later, Wilson found wide receiver Doug Baldwin for a 3-yard touchdown.
Chancellor came up with a huge play earlier in the quarter, stripping the ball out of the hands of Adrian Peterson. The turnover led to a 46-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka that ended up being the game winner.
It wasn't pretty. The weather conditions clearly had an effect on the Seahawks' offense, which had averaged 31.25 points per game in the second half of the season. But in the end, Seattle is moving on. And now the Seahawks will go to Carolina with hopes of returning to the Super Bowl for the third straight season.
Did you notice: Baldwin's amazing one-handed grab down the middle of the field in the second half? Wilson lofted a high pass in his direction, and the 5-foot-10 Baldwin jumped in the air, fully extending his arm to make the catch. Baldwin had five catches for 42 yards and a score. He has 12 touchdowns in his last seven games.
Game ball: It wasn’t pretty, but when the team needed a play, Wilson made it. The conditions were tough, and Wilson completed just 13-of-26 passes for 142 yards. But the big play to Lockett sparked the Seahawks’ comeback.
Replacing Marshawn Lynch: Taking Lynch's place was Christine Michael. He carried 21 times for 70 yards. The Seahawks had some success using the read option. Wilson ran five times for 21 yards.
Keeping Peterson in check: Peterson managed just 45 yards on 23 carries. In two games against the Seahawks this year, he had 63 yards on 31 carries (2.03 YPC). The Seahawks have been a good run defense all season long, and the front seven came up huge against Peterson.
What's next? The Seahawks will now go to Carolina to take on the Panthers, who beat Seattle 27-23 in a Week 6 game the Seahawks at one point led 23-14.