2014 Seattle Seahawks season
The 2014 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 39th in the National Football League and their fifth under head coach Pete Carroll. The Seahawks started the season as the defending Super Bowl champions for the first time in franchise history. The season began with a 36–16 victory over the Green Bay Packers in their first meeting since the controversial Fail Mary Game. After struggling to a 3–3 record, which included a rare home loss to the Dallas Cowboys, they went on a 9–1 run to finish the season, which included a sweep of their division rivals, the  Arizona Cardinals, who battled with them the whole season. They repeated as NFC West champions and finished in a three-way tie with the Packers and Cowboys for the NFC's best record, but earned the No. 1 seed based on tiebreakers, securing home-field advantage for the second consecutive season. This was the first time that a defending Super Bowl champion retained the No. 1 seed in the next season since the 1990 San Francisco 49ers. They were also the first team overall to repeat as the #1 seed in the NFC since the 2004 Philadelphia Eagles; and the  first NFL team to do so since the 2013 Denver Broncos. The Seahawks fielded the #1 rushing attack in the league with Marshawn Lynch finishing the year with 1,306 yards and a league leading 13 rushing touchdowns. In addition to Lynch, Russell Wilson had one of the most prolific running quarterback seasons ever with a career high 849 rushing yards and 6 rushing touchdowns along with a league leading 7.2 yards per attempt. The Seahawks opened the playoffs with a win over the Carolina Panthers in the Divisional round, becoming the first defending champion since the 2005 Patriots to win  a playoff game the following season. In one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history, the Seahawks advanced to Super Bowl XLIX by defeating the Green Bay Packers 28–22 in overtime after trailing 16–0 at halftime and 19–7 with less than three minutes left in regulation. In doing so, they became the first team since the 2004 New England Patriots to repeat as conference champions, the first NFC team since the 1997 Green Bay Packers to repeat as NFC Champions, the first team to go to consecutive Super Bowls as the #1 seed in the playoffs since the 1990–1991 Buffalo  Bills, and the first NFC team to go to consecutive Super Bowls as the #1 seed in the playoffs since the 1982–1983 Washington Redskins. In Super Bowl XLIX, the Seahawks were defeated by the Patriots 28–24, thereby being dethroned and failed to become the first back-to-back champion since the 2004 New England Patriots, as well as the first NFC team to do so since the 1993 Dallas Cowboys. This was also the first time head coach Pete Carroll met his former team, the Patriots, and his successor, Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl, as Carroll was the Patriots  head coach from 1997-1999, the last head coach before Belichick was hired in 2000. Draft. Notes Game summaries. Regular season. Week 1: vs. Green Bay Packers. The Seahawks started their 2014 season at home against the Packers, the first meeting since the controversial 'Fail Mary' game in 2012. With the win, they became the first defending Super Bowl champion team since 2011 (also Packers) to win their regular season opening game for a 1-0 start. This is the first game in NFL history to end in a score of 36-16. In all five years that Pete Carroll  was head coach of the Seahawks, so far, he has had at least one game end in a score never before achieved. Week 2: at San Diego Chargers. This would be their largest margin of defeat since their 13-23 loss to the Cowboys in 2011. Week 3: vs. Denver Broncos. This would be the first Super Bowl rematch (Super Bowl opponents in the previous year who face each other again in the current year) since 1997. Although the Broncos would rally in the 4th quarter to send the game into overtime, the Seahawks scored a touchdown in overtime to  win. They entered their bye week at 2–1. Week 5: at Washington Redskins. Percy Harvin had three touchdowns in this game negated by penalties. This was his penultimate game with the Seahawks. Week 6: vs. Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys defeated the Seahawks 30-23. The Seahawks suffered only their second home loss since Russell Wilson became the starting quarterback at the start of the 2012 season (the other loss was to the Cardinals in Week 16 of the 2013 season). Wilson struggled mightily, going 14/28 for only 126 yards with 1 rushing touchdown, 0 touchdown passes, and a game sealing  interception. The defense also gave up several big plays, including a 3rd and 20 first down conversion in the 4th quarter. The conversion eventually led to a touchdown that put the Cowboys up 27-23. The 30 points that were allowed by the Seahawks were the most they allowed in any home game in the Wilson era. With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 3-2 on the season. Week 8: at Carolina Panthers. This was the first Seahawks road game to be televised by CBS since 2001, their last year in the AFC West. Week 13: at San Francisco  49ers. Thanksgiving Day game Week 15: vs. San Francisco 49ers. With the win, not only did the Seahawks knock the 49ers out of the playoffs, but they also swept the 49ers for the first time since 2007. Week 16: at Arizona Cardinals. With this win, the Seahawks completed a comeback against the Cardinals they started in week 12 from 3 games back in the division with 6 to play. They also swept the Cardinals for the first time since 2010. Week 17: vs. St. Louis Rams. With this win, Seattle clinched the NFC West, a first round bye, and home  field advantage throughout the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Postseason. Seattle entered the postseason as the #1 seed in the NFC. NFC Divisional Playoff: vs. #4 Carolina Panthers. The Seahawks defeated the Panthers 31-17, becoming the first defending Super Bowl champion to win a playoff game since the 2005 Patriots, and advanced to their second consecutive NFC Championship game. They hosted the Green Bay Packers, who defeated the Dallas Cowboys 26-21. NFC Championship Game: vs. #2 Green Bay Packers. After trailing 16-0 in the 3rd quarter and 19-7 with just over 2 minutes remaining, Russell  Wilson, who threw 4 interceptions in the game, rallied Seattle to a much needed touchdown to bring the score to 19-14 with 2:09 left in regulation. The Seahawks then recovered an onside kick to re-gain possession of the football. After a relatively quick drive, Marshawn Lynch scored on a 24-yard touchdown run, making the score 22-19 after a successful 2-point conversion with 1:25 left. Aaron Rodgers then drove the Packers to the Seattle 30 yard line, where Mason Crosby kicked a 48-yard field goal to tie and send the game into overtime. Seattle then  won the coin toss and drove 87 yards in 6 plays, capped by consecutive 35 yard completions, the first on 3rd-and-6 from the Seahawks own 30 yard line to Doug Baldwin, and the second a touchdown pass from Wilson to Jermaine Kearse to win the game 28-22. With the win, the Seahawks became the first defending champion to return to the Super Bowl since the 2004 Patriots. Additionally, they ended the Packers' season the same way it began, as they lost to the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field in the Kickoff Game. Super Bowl XLIX: vs. #A1 New England  Patriots. The game was a back and forth battle, but best remembered for Seattle throwing a game-sealing interception at the one-yard line on 2nd and 1 instead of going for a Marshawn Lynch rushing touchdown. The decision was highly scrutinized; Carroll stated "You've trained your players to do the right thing, and I trust them to do right."