They did it. Lions beat Packers to get Seahawks into NFC playoffs. 49ers next for Seattle
Quandre Diggs owes some Lions vacations.
This past week, Detroit’s former captain and now-Seahawks Pro Bowl safety said he’d been calling his former Lions teammates offering them paid vacations as incentives for them to beat Green Bay to get Seattle into the playoffs.
Sunday night, the Lions did it. They beat the Packers. For only the fourth time in Lambeau Field since 1992.
That means coach Pete Carroll’s young Seahawks (9-8) are unexpectedly in the NFC playoffs. The team Las Vegas oddmakers pegged to win five or so games after trading Russell Wilson this offseason is the seventh and final seed after their win earlier Sunday over the Los Angeles Rams.
Seattle will play at NFC West-rival and champion San Francisco (13-4) in the wild-card playoffs Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
“2 Dubs in 1 night is crazy,” Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker posted on his Twitter account Sunday night.
The 49ers are 10-point favorites, per Caesars Sports.
Not that the Seahawks care about that right about now.
So much for all the uproar in the Pacific Northwest about the NFL scheduling Lions-Packers for Sunday night after the Seahawks had already eliminated Detroit from the playoffs.
As Carroll had predicted publicly, coach Dan Campbell had his Lions roaring in Green Bay. They were going for it on fourth downs and playing for the win, intercepting Aaron Rodgers late then running out the clock for a win that had all of Detroit and Seattle roaring.
Now the Seahawks take a two-game winning streak into their ninth postseason in 11 years.
Not only that, Seattle has the fifth-overall choice in this spring’s draft because of trading Russell Wilson to Denver. The Broncos finished a 5-12 season on Sunday.
The Seahawks will have the highest draft pick of any team to make the playoffs in 20 years.
Now that’s a better-than-good deal for Seattle.
“It’s really been a terrific year,” Carroll said.
“Now, let’s go have fun with this. ...
“We are going to be tough to play against right now. Our guys are ready to go.”
The Seahawks lost both meetings with the 49ers this season, 27-7 at Levi’s Stadium in September and 21-13 inside Seattle’s Lumen Field last month. The Niners physically dominated both games. San Francisco enters the playoffs on a 10-game winning streak.
The Seahawks have been underdogs all season. They really are now.
“The challenge is the 49ers. They are pretty good,” Carroll said.
“If you going to do something special here at the end, you have to beat really good teams.
As the Lions were taking the lead in the fourth quarter Sunday night and as they completed their upset, Seahawks employees watching on the suite level of Lumen Field four hours after their team’s game — and maybe season — ended were roaring into the empty stadium.
“We are partying a little bit here,” Carroll said via Zoom.
“Now we are rewarded with this opportunity. Now let’s go cash in on it.”
The Seahawks scattered following their rally past the Rams, 19-16 in overtime Sunday. Diggs said he’s going to go eat steak and lobster. Wide receiver Tyler Lockett said he may be watching Netflix.
Smith wasn’t planning on watching Lions-Packers, either.
“I’m going to take my girl on a date, actually, and try not to watch the game,” Smith said.
”I’m preparing as if we are going to play a game next week.”
He was right.
Now the seven-year backup quarterback for four teams gets to continue a season that will likely take his pay from $3.5 million to perhaps $25 million to $30 million per year for 2023 and beyond. He’s due to enter free agency in March.
“Shoot, man, I hope March doesn’t come. I’m focused on football right now,” Smith said after his game Sunday.
“But, you know, the thing is that it’s a business. Football is a business. A lot of people have a lot of decisions to make. That’s where I’ll leave it at.
“I feel great about where I stand with this organization and my teammates and everybody else, but it’s always — it’s always a business first. So I look at it like that. I understand that.
“And I have to handle my business as well.”
Seahawks players and coaches kept going back and forth about the Lions in Green Bay via group texting. As Detroit took the lead late in that game, the Seahawks’ excitement grew. So did the number of texts.
“It was really fun,” Carroll said on KING-5 television Sunday night. “I know everybody was connected throughout the Northwest. You know, our players and our staff were, too. As the game went on, you could just feel Detroit was playing really well and had a legitimate chance.
“You could just tell.
“It was so much fun for everybody,” the 71-year-old coach said, chuckling. “I was hoping it could be a party tonight. I hope everybody is enjoying every way that they can. We are certainly going to get right back to work (Monday) and get going here. And we are really fired up about it.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2023 at 8:25 PM.
