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 Marshawn Lynch rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns, the
Seattle defense began the second half with two big plays, and the
defending champion Seahawks put away the Green Bay Packers 36-16 in
the NFL regular-season opener.
"You always want to pick up where you left off," Seahawks
quarterback Russell Wilson said. "We don't believe in the whole
Super Bowl hangover thing."
Lynch scored from 9 and 3 yards out, with the latter coming on the
opening play of the fourth quarter to cap off 12 unanswered points
coming out of halftime.
After skipping the first few days of training camp in a contract
dispute and being used sparingly in the preseason, Lynch broke out
for his first 100-yard regular-season game since Week 11 of 2013.
The 28-year-old running back carried the ball 20 times Thursday.
The Seahawks became the first defending Super Bowl champion to open
with a victory since 2011, when the Packers beat the New Orleans
Saints on a Thursday. The New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens, the
past two Super Bowl winners, lost their openers the past two years.
Wilson threw for two touchdowns while completing 19 of 28 passes for
191 yards. Wide receiver Percy Harvin caught seven passes for 59
yards and added 41 yards on four rushes.
Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed 23 of 33 passes for
189 yards and a touchdown, but he also had a costly interception on
the Packers' first offensive play of the second half. His first pass
after halftime went off the hand of intended receiver Jordy Nelson
and into the hands of Seattle cornerback Byron Maxwell, setting up a
field goal for a 20-10 lead.
"I've got to make that play," Nelson said. "It was a big change in
the game. It was an opportunity to make a big play, and I didn't do
it."
Said Rodgers of the interception: "I missed my spot by about a
foot."
Packers running back Eddie Lacy gained 34 yards on 12 carries before
leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a possible concussion.
Lacy was wearing sunglasses inside the locker room and was not made
available to reporters. He is likely to undergo further tests in the
next few days.
The Seahawks pulled away from a 17-10 halftime lead with two key
defensive plays in the third quarter. Maxwell's interception led to
a Steven Hauschka 20-yard field goal, and then defensive lineman
Michael Bennett's sack and forced fumble resulted in a safety for a
22-10 Seattle lead.
Bennett rushed past right tackle Derek Sherrod, who was filling in
for injured starter Bryan Bulaga, and blindsided Rodgers at the
Green Bay 10-yard line. Rodgers fumbled the ball into the end zone,
where Sherrod recovered for a safety.
"I just wanted to make a big play," Bennett said.
Lynch then put the game away with his second touchdown for a 29-10
advantage.
Rodgers and the Packers bounced back with a 10-play, 82-yard drive
early in the fourth quarter, cutting the Seahawks' lead to 29-16 on
a Rodgers-to-Randall Cobb touchdown pass. The two-point-conversion
attempt failed.
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Seattle responded with a 13-play, 80-yard drive, most of it while
running the read-option, to eat up seven minutes. Wilson capped it
off with a 14-yard touchdown to fullback Derrick Coleman on a
play-action pass on fourth-and-1 with 2:31 remaining. In the first
Seahawks-Packers meeting since the infamous "Fail Mary" play of
2012, Seattle didn't need any last-second heroics or questionable
calls to beat Green Bay at home. The Seahawks outgained the Packers
398-255 and held a double-digit lead for the final 25 minutes, 28
seconds of Thursday's game.
"We didn't carry over what we started in the preseason," Packers
middle linebacker Brad Jones said. "We didn't come out and bring
what we brought in the preseason. We're going to have to regroup and
figure out what went wrong."
Lynch's 9-yard touchdown with 3:41 remaining in the second quarter
gave the Seahawks a 17-10 halftime lead. Wilson also threw a 33-yard
touchdown pass to wide receiver Ricardo Lockette, who avoided Green
Bay rookie Ha Ha Clinton-Dix inside the 15-yard line and ran the
rest of the way to put Seattle ahead 10-7 early in the second
quarter.
Green Bay took its only lead of the game, 7-3, on a 2-yard run by
fullback John Kuhn with 1:25 remaining in the first quarter.
Said Green Bay's Nelson of the loss: "It's one of 16, and there is a
lot more season left."
NOTES: Packers rookie G Corey Linsley, who didn't play a snap at
center with the first team during the preseason, started in place of
injured C JC Tretter on Thursday. ... Seahawks CB Jeremy Lane
sustained a groin injury early in the second half. ... Two Green Bay
starters were injured on the same play early in the second quarter.
RT Bryan Bulaga (knee) and rookie TE Richard Rodgers (neck) had to
be attended to simultaneously but eventually walked off the field
under their own power. Bulaga did not return to action, but he was
walking without a noticeable limp after the game. Rodgers returned
to action but didn't catch a pass in his first NFL start. ... The
Seahawks have now won five consecutive season openers that were
played at home. The streak began after 1999, when new coach Mike
Holmgren lost in his debut with the Seahawks. ... The Seahawks
unveiled a Super Bowl banner before Thursday's game, then held a
halftime ceremony honoring OT Walter Jones, a recent Hall of Fame
inductee.
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