The Green Bay Packers survived the magic of Russell Wilson.
Despite three second-half touchdown drives led by the Seattle Seahawks quarterback, the Packers escaped Sunday’s NFC Divisional Round playoff game with a 28-23 win that will send Matt LaFleur’s team to the NFC Championship Game next Sunday in San Francisco.
The Packers got late first downs from Davante Adams and Jimmy Graham to seal the deal on the final drive.
The Packers led 21-3 at the half but Wilson and the Seahawks didn’t go down without a fight. Two Marshawn Lynch touchdown runs and a Tyler Lockett score from Wilson cut the Packers’ lead to just five with nine minutes to go.
The Packers got clutch plays to finish it.
Preston Smith delivered a third-down sack to force a punt on Seattle’s next drive, and Rodgers hit Adams for 32 yards on 3rd-and-8 and Graham for nine yards on 3rd-and-9 to run out the clock.
Rodgers finished with 243 passing yards, two touchdown passes and a 113.7 passer rating. Aaron Jones scored a pair of first-half touchdowns. Adams was the game’s star, catching eight passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns.
Graham stung his former team with three huge catches, including the game-sealing conversion. Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith tallied four (two each) of the Packers’ five sacks of Wilson, who finished with 277 passing yards and 64 rushing yards.
The Packers, now 14-3 this season, will move on to face the 49ers in the NFC title game next Sunday in San Francisco. The top-seeded 49ers beat the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday.