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Associated Press 8y

Seattle not shaken by falling behind in the postseason

NFL, Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings

RENTON, Wash. -- If the Seattle Seahawks fall behind by two scores Sunday in Carolina, they're the last team that's going to panic about the situation.

Seven times since Pete Carroll's arrival in 2010, the Seahawks have faced a deficit of nine or more points in playoff games. And in five of those games, the Seahawks have rallied to win, including last week when Seattle trailed 9-0 at Minnesota before pulling out a 10-9 victory.

That might not seem like that grand an accomplishment until it's compared to the rest of the NFL, which according to STATS is 7-42 facing the same situations.

"I couldn't be more proud of that. That's what we're talking about. That's how we hope to be," Carroll said. "We've pulled off some pretty exciting finishes, and we've been part of the other end of it too, but for the most part we've done it really well. It's a really good thing to know about yourself when you're going into these games."

The two losses for Seattle came early in Carroll's tenure. Seattle lost 35-24 in 2010 divisional playoff game at Chicago. Two years later, Seattle trailed 20-0 at halftime and 27-7 after three quarters in Atlanta, only to rally and lead 28-27 in the final minute before Matt Bryant's 49-yard field goal sent the Falcons to the NFC title game.

But the five wins have all been significant moments for Seattle during Carroll's tenure. Here's a look at those five games:

-2010 NFC wild-card game, Seattle 41, New Orleans 36: A game that was remembered for Marshawn Lynch's "Beast Quake" run in the fourth quarter that caused seismic activity was actually in doubt early. The Saints jumped out to 10-0 and 17-7 leads before Matt Hasselbeck led the Seahawks on a 27-3 scoring run in the second and third quarters. But Lynch's run was the capper, a 67-yard rumble where he shed tacklers and remains one of the most memorable postseason runs in league history.

-2012 NFC wild-card game, Seattle 24, Washington 14: In a hyped matchup between Wilson and Robert Griffin III, Washington jumped out to a 14-0 lead before Seattle rallied. The Seahawks were down 14-13 at halftime and Lynch's 27-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter put Seattle ahead for good. It was the Seahawks' first road playoff win since 1983.

-2013 NFC championship game, Seattle 23, San Francisco 17: The 49ers silenced CenturyLink Field leading 10-0 early in the second quarter and held a 17-10 lead midway through the third quarter. The play everyone remembers is Richard Sherman's tip of Colin Kaepernick's pass that Malcolm Smith intercepted in the end zone with 22 seconds left to clinch Seattle's victory. But the most important play was Jermaine Kearse's fourth-down, 35-yard touchdown reception with 13:44 left that gave Seattle a 20-17 lead. The Seahawks forced San Francisco turnovers on its next two possessions before Sherman's famous tip and his postgame outburst on national television.

-2014 NFC championship game, Seattle 28, Green Bay 22, OT: The Seahawks trailed 19-7 when they took possession with 3:52 left. In the span of 2:19, the Seahawks had the lead thanks to Wilson's TD run, an onside kick recovered by Chris Matthews and Lynch's 24-yard TD run. Green Bay rallied to force overtime after Mason Crosby hit a 48-yard field goal with 14 seconds left in regulation, but on the first possession of overtime Wilson hit Kearse on a 35-yard TD and sent Seattle to its second straight Super Bowl.

-2015 NFC wild-card game, Seattle 10, Minnesota 9: The Seahawks were shut out through three quarters for the first time since Week 2 of the 2011 season in the deep freeze of Minnesota and all 10 of Seattle's points basically came on three plays. Wilson hit Tyler Lockett on a broken play for 35 yards to the Minnesota 4 and set up Doug Baldwin's 3-yard TD catch early in the fourth quarter. Kam Chancellor's forced fumble on Adrian Peterson led to Steven Hauschka's 46-yard field goal for a 10-9 lead. Of course, any comeback would have been forgotten if not for Blair Walsh missing a 27-yard field goal attempt in the final minute.

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