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 Marshawn Lynch rushed for 109 yards and a touchdowns and the
Seahawks forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter to set up a
meeting with AFC champion Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2 — a
matchup that will feature the league's No. 1 defense against Peyton
Manning and the top-ranked offense. Seattle snuffed out San
Francisco's last hope when Richard Sherman deflected a pass that
teammate Malcolm Smith picked off in the end zone with 22 seconds to
play.
Wilson finished 16-of-25 and put the top-seeded Seahawks (15-3)
ahead to stay, connecting with Jermaine Kearse on a 35-yard scoring
strike with 13:44 to play on fourth-and-7 to make it 20-17. The
touchdown came after Seattle's field goal unit was late getting on
the field, forcing coach Pete Carroll to call a timeout and
eventually decide against the kick.
Colin Kaepernick threw for 153 yards with one touchdown and two
interceptions and ran for 130 yards on 11 carries for the 49ers
(14-5), who had their eight-game winning streak snapped and were
denied in their bid for a second consecutive Super Bowl appearance.
Kaepernick committed three costly turnovers in the final 10:07,
fumbling once and throwing a pair of picks.
Kam Chancellor intercepted Kaepernick with just over 7 1/2 minutes
remaining, leading to Steven Hauschka's third field goal — a
47-yarder — for a 23-17 edge with 3:37 to play. Kaepernick drove San
Francisco to Seattle's 18-yard line, keeping the drive alive on a
17-yard pass to Frank Gore on fourth down, before his intended pass
to Michael Crabtree in the right corner of the end zone was batted
by Sherman into the arms of Smith.
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With the Seahawks trailing 10-3 at halftime, Lynch broke
loose for a 40-yard touchdown run on Seattle's first possession
of the third quarter to tie it at 10-10 and Kaepernick responded
with a 26-yard jump pass to Anquan Boldin in the end zone.
Hauschka connected from 40 yards out to cut the deficit to 17-13
with 3:55 left in the third before the fourth-down gamble paid
off when Kearse outjumped Carlos Rogers in the end zone for the
go-ahead TD. GAME NOTEBOOK: Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin had six
catches for 106 yards, including a 51-yard catch to set up
Hauschka's first field goal, and a 69-yard kick return that led to
Hauschka's second field goal. ... Kaepernick registered the
second-best rushing performance by a quarterback in the playoffs,
trailing only his record 181-yard effort against Green Bay in
January 2013. ... Lynch's touchdown run was his sixth in the
postseason and the second-longest in franchise playoff history,
behind his 67-yarder versus New Orleans in 2010. ... Niners Pro Bowl
LB NaVorro Bowman appeared to suffer a serious knee injury when he
pried the ball loose from Kearse at the goal line while Pro Bowl LG
Mike Iupati exited with an ankle injury on Dixon's TD plunge and had
to be assisted off the field.
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