2003 NFC Wild Card Playoff Game (Seattle–Green Bay)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 2003 National Football Conference (NFC) Wild Card playoff game was a
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL)
playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
game between the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
and
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
on January 4, 2004. The game, which was contested at
Lambeau Field Lambeau Field () is an outdoor athletic stadium in the East North Central states, north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 Green ...
in
Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...
, became notable after Seahawks' quarterback
Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Seattle Seahawks. He played college football for t ...
proclaimed, "We want the ball and we're going to score!" when the Seahawks won the coin toss before the start of the
overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
period. Hasselbeck's comment was picked up on the referee's microphone and was broadcast to the stadium and the television audiences. Hasselbeck subsequently threw an
interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...
on their second drive of overtime that was returned for a game-winning
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
by Packers cornerback Al Harris. The score was the first defensive touchdown to win an overtime playoff game in NFL history and was ranked as one of the best 100 plays in NFL history. The dramatic finish advanced the Packers to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, where they lost to the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
in the
4th and 26 4th and 26 was a National Football League (NFL) game played on January 11, 2004, between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles during the 2003–04 playoffs. The Packers traveled to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...
game.


Background

The
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
finished the
2003 NFL season The 2003 NFL season was the 84th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular-season play was held from September 4, 2003, to December 28, 2003. Due to damage caused by the Cedar Fire, Qualcomm Stadium was used as an emergen ...
with a record of 10–6, putting them in second place in the
NFC West The National Football Conference – Western Division or NFC West is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Card ...
. The Seahawks won the last two games of the season to secure a playoff berth as a wild card team. The
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
also finished the 2003 season with a record of 10–6, enough to win the
NFC North The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and toug ...
. After starting the season 6–6, the Packers finished the regular season on a four-game winning streak, scoring more than 30 points in each victory. The Packers only won the division after the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
gave up two late touchdowns to the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
in the last game of the year. The Seahawks and Packers had met in the regular season, with the Packers securing a 35–13 victory in Week 5 at
Lambeau Field Lambeau Field () is an outdoor athletic stadium in the East North Central states, north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 Green ...
. This would be the first postseason match-up within the teams' rivalry. With their higher seeding, the Packers secured homefield advantage and the right to host the game at
Lambeau Field Lambeau Field () is an outdoor athletic stadium in the East North Central states, north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 Green ...
. The Packers were favored to win the game by 7 points. Both the Seahawks' head coach and starting quarterback had close ties to the Packers:
Mike Holmgren Michael George Holmgren (born June 15, 1948) is an American former American football, football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL career as a quarterbacks' coach and later as an offensive coordinator wit ...
resigned as head coach of the Packers after the
1998 NFL season The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The season culminated with Super Bowl XXXIII, with the Denver Broncos defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34–19 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami. The Broncos ha ...
to become the head coach and general manager of the Seahawks, while
Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Seattle Seahawks. He played college football for t ...
served as the backup quarterback to
Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 cons ...
in 1999 and 2000 before being traded to the Seahawks.


Game summary


First half

The Packers started the game with the ball, but after a 10-yard catch by
Bubba Franks Daniel Lamont "Bubba" Franks (born January 6, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning fir ...
for a first down, the team was stopped and forced to punt. The Seahawks scored first, driving down to the 12-yard line before a Josh Brown field goal put them up 3–0. During the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second, the teams exchanged two punts each on short drives. After receiving a Seahawks punt, the Packers broke through to tie the game on a 5-play, 37-yard drive culminating in a
Ryan Longwell Ryan Walker Longwell (born August 16, 1974Ryan Longwell
NFLPA.com. Retrieved November 22, 2014.< ...
field goal. The Seahawks quickly regained the lead, driving 51 yards before the Packers forced a field goal attempt. Brown again converted, putting the Seahawks up 6–3. After the score,
Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 cons ...
completed a 44-yard pass to
Javon Walker Javon Liteff Walker (born October 14, 1978) is an American former professional American football, football player. He was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers 20th overall in the 2002 ...
on the first play of the drive. Favre completed another pass for 13 yards to
Ahman Green Ahman Rashad Green (; born February 16, 1977) is an American former professional football running back who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earning second-team All ...
and then a play later threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Franks to put the Packers up 10–6. The Seahawks regained possession after the score, but their drive went backwards, as they lost a total of 18 yards on a sack, a fumble and a rush for negative yardage. After the Seahawks punted, the Packers gained 30 yards, with 23 of them coming from a pass to
Donald Driver Donald Jerome Driver (born February 2, 1975) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Alcorn State University, D ...
that ended in a Longwell field goal, increasing the Packers' lead to 13–6. The Seahawks again were unable to move the ball near the end of the half, punting back to the Packers who proceeded to kneel the ball to end the half.


Second half

The Seahawks began the second half with a 10-play, 74-yard drive.
Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Seattle Seahawks. He played college football for t ...
completed three separate passes each over 10 yards and
Shaun Alexander Shaun Edward Alexander (born August 30, 1977) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins. He played college football for the Alaba ...
scored on a fourth down rush from the 1-yard line. The extra point brought the score even, 13–13. The Packers started their next drive strong, gaining 20 yards on two plays to put the ball at mid-field, but after two incompletions they were forced to punt. The Seahawks again engineered a long scoring drive, punctuated by a 33-yard catch by
Koren Robinson Koren Lynard Robinson (born March 19, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the NC State Wolfpack. He was select ...
and Alexander's second rushing touchdown, again from the 1-yard line. The Packers got the ball back, down 20–13, but quickly evened the score again. The 12-play, 60-yard scoring drive covered the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter. Favre completed all 5 pass attempts, while Green converted a fourth down attempt and then a rushing touchdown from the 1-yard line. With the game tied 20–20, the Seahawks went three-and-out, punting the ball back to the Packers. The Packers methodically moved the ball down the field with a mix of short passes and rushes, before Green rushed for his second touchdown, again from the 1-yard line. Now down 27–20, the Seahawks got the ball back with just over 2 minutes left in the game. Hasselbeck completed three separate passes for 9, 16 and 34 yards to get the Seahawks into scoring position. After a 5-yard penalty gave the Seahawks a first down on the 1-yard line, Alexander scored his third rushing touchdown of the game (all three from the 1-yard line). Brown's extra point evened the score 27–27 with 51 seconds left in the game. After two short completions, Favre found Walker for a 27-yard catch to put the Packers in field goal range. After a short rush by Green, the Packers called timeout and brought Longwell on for a potential game-winning field goal. Longwell missed the attempt though, sending the game into overtime.


Overtime

The Seahawks won the coin toss and chose to receive the ball. In selecting to receive the ball, Hasselbeck excitedly exclaimed, "We want the ball and we're going to score!" to the referee, which was picked up on the referee's microphone and heard by the crowd at Lambeau Field and over the television broadcast. The Seahawks went three-and-out on their first drive and punted the ball to the Packers, who then also went three-and-out. After the Packers' punt, the Seahawks gained a first down on two short passes. After a rush for a one yard loss and an incomplete pass, the Seahawks faced a 3rd down with 11 yards to go. Hasselbeck snapped the ball and almost immediately turned and threw the ball toward the left sideline. Al Harris jumped the route and stepped in front of the intended receiver, Alex Bannister, intercepting the ball at mid-field and returning it for a walk-off touchdown.


Box score


Analysis

Much of the post-game analysis focused on Hasselbeck's bold claim after the overtime coin toss and the play made by Harris to win the game. On the final play, the Packers blitzed Hasselbeck, who saw it coming before the snap and audibled to a different play. Harris noticed the audible, which he had seen earlier in the game, and took advantage, jumping the route and grabbing the interception. The game was noted for being a fairly even, back-and-forth affair. There was some officiating controversy regarding three separate fumbles, with two calls being overturned by instant replay.
Mike Holmgren Michael George Holmgren (born June 15, 1948) is an American former American football, football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL career as a quarterbacks' coach and later as an offensive coordinator wit ...
tried to challenge a possible fumble on a play where Green converted on fourth down and one yard to go, but was not allowed to by the officials. After the game, the ''
Manitowoc Herald-Times ''The Herald Times Reporter'' is a daily newspaper based in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and owned by Gannett as part of its ''USA Today Network Wisconsin'' division. The newspaper is distributed primarily throughout Manitowoc County, as Green Bay and ...
'' noted that the victory was a team win, with key contributions coming from multiple players on offense and defense. Favre's touchdown pass made it his 14th straight playoff game with a passing touchdown, beating
Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1961) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played college f ...
's record at the time.


Aftermath

The Packers moved on to the Divisional Round of the playoffs to face the first seeded
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
. This game also went into overtime after the Eagles converted on fourth down with 26 yards to go in the fourth quarter. The ensuing Eagles' field goal tied the game at the end of the fourth quarter, forcing overtime. The Eagles kicked another field goal to secure a 20–17 victory and move on to the
NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Ame ...
.


Legacy

Harris was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Week for his interception returned for a touchdown, which was the first defensive touchdown to win an overtime playoff game in NFL history. In honor of its 100th anniversary in 2019, the NFL compiled a list of the 100 greatest games and the 100 greatest plays. This game was ranked as the 72nd greatest in NFL history, while Harris' interception return for a touchdown was ranked as the 86th greatest play. In 2020, the Harris' interception was ranked as one of the greatest moments in Wisconsin sports history by the ''
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...
''; two years later the newspaper named the play one of the greatest in Packers' playoff history. The game and the play are a notable part of the
Packers–Seahawks rivalry The Packers–Seahawks rivalry is an American football rivalry between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. The Packers entered the National Football League (NFL) in 1921 and saw significant periods of sustained success under Curly Lamb ...
and are still discussed years later. Hasselbeck returned to Lambeau Field for a ''
Monday Night Countdown ''Monday Night Countdown'' (officially ''Monday Night Countdown presented by ESPN Bet'') is an American Pre-game show, pregame television program that is broadcast on ESPN, preceding its coverage of ''Monday Night Football''. For the network's non ...
'' in 2017 only to find a picture of Harris' interception in his hotel room. After returning to his hotel to find another photo of Harris, he realized it was a prank and autographed the photo. The game was also highlighted on ''NFL's Greatest Games''.


See also

*
Packers–Seahawks rivalry The Packers–Seahawks rivalry is an American football rivalry between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. The Packers entered the National Football League (NFL) in 1921 and saw significant periods of sustained success under Curly Lamb ...
*
List of nicknamed NFL games and plays This is a list of several dozen National Football League (NFL) games and plays that have been given names by the media, football fans, and as part of a team's lore because of a distinctive play, unusual outcome, or other circumstance. This list do ...


References


External links

* {{NFL on Fox 2003 NFL season NFL playoff games Green Bay Packers playoff games Seattle Seahawks postseason 2004 in sports in Wisconsin January 2004 sports events in the United States Nicknamed sporting events Brett Favre