Carroll-coached Seahawks upset defending Super Bowl champions

A year after Pete Carroll’s infamous decision to leave USC to take over as head coach of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, the nine-year Trojan head coach has led his new team to the postseason for the first time since 2007, and coincidently, an opening round victory, as well.

The Seahawks, who began the game at 7-9, faced off against the defending champion New Orleans Saints, who were entering the playoffs with a slightly better 11-5 mark, harboring dreams of a possible Super Bowl repeat.

After becoming the first team to earn a postseason berth with a sub-500 record, the Seahawks were considered by many to be serious underdogs. Instead, however, Seattle notched one of the biggest upsets in NFL postseason history, defeating the visiting Saints 41-36.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, whose team was faced with a 10-point deficit early in the first quarter, engineered the Seahawks’ comeback, throwing for 272 yards and four touchdowns.

The Saints, however, had little difficulty providing similar offensive fireworks. In the wake of losing running back Pierre Thomas to an ankle injury, New Orleans relied heavily on its backfield tandem of Julius Jones and former USC All-American Reggie Bush. Ironically, Jones, who finished with 120 yards rushing and two touchdowns, was cut by Seattle earlier this season. Bush was a non-factor, though, with just five carries for a total of 12 yards and did not play in the fourth quarter after heading to the locker room.

But arguably, Saints quarterback Drew Brees was the game’s biggest performer, throwing for 404 yards with two touchdowns, cutting the Seahawks lead to four at the start of the final quarter.

As the fourth quarter winded down, the Seahawks were able to run the ball, allow the the clock to run, and as a result, keep Brees on the sideline.

On a second-and-10 play, Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch scored what led to be the game winning touchdown. In the final three minutes Lynch ran for 67 yards, breaking a half-dozen tackles to give his team an 11-point lead.

Although the Saints made one last drive, scoring on a six-yard touchdown pass from Brees to wide receiver Devery Henderson, Lynch’s explosive run sealed the Seahawks’ fate. On the afternoon, Lynch finished with 131 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown, becoming the first Seahawk running back to top 100 yards all season.

Carroll and the Seahawks hope momentum will carry over to next Sunday’s NFC Divisional matchup against the NFC North champion Chicago Bears, who are led by all-pro quarterback Jay Cutler.