Season of Boom

[KimJongBaze]

// Seahawks lose Damien Lewis again, now down three starting linemen against Cowboys
// BY ADAM MILLER

RENTON, Wash. - The Seahawks will be without a third starting offensive lineman this weekend when they face the Dallas Cowboys.

Offensive guard Damien Lewis has officially been ruled out of the upcoming matchup with a broken thumb, said head coach Pete Carroll during today's post-practice press conference. The 4th-year guard from LSU also missed multiple games in the regular season.

Lewis injured his thumb in the team's 29-0 wild card victory over the Green Bay Packers. That makes him, Charles Cross, and Evan Brown unable to play against the Cowboys, who boast one of the most dangerous pass-rushing duos in the NFL - Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. Rookie guard Anthony Bradford will once again be charged with replacing Lewis for the next several weeks. That makes two rookies starting on the offensive line this Sunday - Bradford and Olu Oluwatimi, who's still covering for center Evan Brown.

Lewis told reporters he plans to play again this post-season, possibly next week should the Seahawks advance to the NFC Championship Game.

"I don't want to miss it," he said.

[KimJongBaze]

// NFC Divisional Round Preview: Dallas Cowboys
// BY JEANIE ROTH

SEATTLE, Wash. - It's not only an opportunity for the Seahawks to exact revenge on the Cowboys for their regular season loss, but it is also an opportunity for them to go back to the NFC Conference Championship for the first time in 9 years. To do so, they'll have to take down the presumed front-runner for MVP, Dak Prescott, among many other Cowboys superstars.

Cowboys Key Performers

• QB Dak Prescott: 4,663 yards (2nd in NFL), 40 touchdowns (1st in NFL), 7 interceptions
• HB Tony Pollard: 993 yards, 10 touchdowns
• WR CeeDee Lamb: 1,353 yards (2nd in NFL), 9 touchdowns
• WR Michael Gallup: 1,184 yards, 14 touchdowns (3rd in NFL)
• WR Brandin Cooks: 845 yards, 9 touchdowns
• LB Leighton Vander Esch: 115 tackles, 4 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 2 interceptions
• LB Micah Parsons: 70 tackles, 17 TFL, 18 sacks (1st in NFL)
• DE DeMarcus Lawrence: 56 tackles, 13 TFL, 12 sacks (4th in NFL)
• CB Stephon Gilmore: 95 tackles, 3 interceptions

It will certainly be one of Seattle's toughest challenges yet in recent weeks as now they host the 3rd-best scoring team in the league. When the Cowboys met the Seahawks in the regular season, Prescott threw for a season-high 382 yards and 4 touchdowns, with a game-winning touchdown to Michael Gallup in overtime. The loss led to a locker room confrontation between D.K. Metcalf and Tariq Woolen over what most people believe was Metcalf's criticism towards the play of the secondary at the time. Whatever the case, the loss ignited the Seahawks to win 3 out of their last 4 games to clinch the NFC West, and as of late, their secondary has markedly improved...see last week's 29-0 shutout of the Green Bay Packers as an example.

Unlike last time, when the Seahawks had to play Dallas at AT&T Stadium, Seattle will be at Lumen Field with the support of the 12s. They'll look to get under the Cowboys' skin and affect the Dallas play-calling.

Keys to the Game

• Stopping the Cowboys pass rush
  No offensive line has wanted to look across from them and see Micah Parsons AND DeMarcus Lawrence this season - the duo have terrorized the league this year, combining for 30 sacks. As a team, the Cowboys are tied for 3rd with 42 sacks. The focus for Seattle's offensive line will be Parsons and Lawrence to keep Geno Smith standing in the pocket, though they'll have to do this down three starting offensive linemen...Smith was sacked 3 times in the previous meeting.

• Protecting the football/limiting the turnovers
  Seattle turned the ball over twice early in last week's game - a Smith interception and a fumble by Kenneth Walker - but fortunately for them no damage was done. That's unlikely to be the case against the Cowboys and their offense. Part of the reason why Dallas' offense was able to score the 3rd-most points in the league has to do with their ability to force turnovers. They rank in the top 10 in takeaways and 4th in the NFL in turnover differential.

• Finding a way to limit Dak Prescott and the Cowboys offense
  It's going to be difficult to stop Prescott, so the next best thing for the Seahawks is to limit and contain his output. Tony Pollard may be an x-factor in this game with his ability to both run the football and catch it out of the backfield. The Seahawks were not able to stop the big plays from happening last time against the Cowboys, but to look on the bright side - despite their defensive struggles, the Seahawks still managed to only lose by one possession. In an ideal world, we see the Seahawks come up with some defensive stops while their well-oiled offensive machine does not break down. That would be the recipe to the NFC Championship Game.

[Soapy]

Didn't get the help you needed, gonna need to nut up and get it done

[Captain Canada]

Sheesh, offensive line further in shambles. Going to have to pull it off. Fuck the Cowboys.

[KimJongBaze]

NFC DIVISIONAL: SEATTLE SEAHAWKS vs. DALLAS COWBOYS
Lumen Field // Seattle, WA
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | OT || FINAL
DAL (13-4) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22 | - || 25
SEA (12-5) | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | - || 28
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


D.K. Metcalf hauls in a touchdown over cornerback Daron Bland just before halftime.

// Seahawks hold off Cowboys to advance to NFC Championship
SEATTLE, Wash. - A combination of big plays and a stout 1st-half defense has propelled the Seattle Seahawks to the NFC Championship game after defeating the Dallas Cowboys.

What looked to be a comfortable victory turned into a near-disaster after Dak Prescott and the Cowboys offense stormed back to score 22 points in the 4th quarter, pulling within 3 points of tying the game after Luke Schoonmaker's touchdown with under 3 minutes remaining. However, the Cowboys opted not to attempt an onside kick and relied on their defense to stop Seattle. That didn't happen as Seattle's running game pulled through after being stuffed all day - Zach Charbonnet picked up the team's final first down that allowed Geno Smith and the offense to settle into the victory formation.

For the most part, the Cowboys defense held Seattle's top-ranked offense in check - Seattle averaged just 2.9 yards per rushing play, and Geno Smith completed just 16 passes. But the big plays they allowed doomed Dallas - 3 of the Seahawks' 4 touchdowns came on plays of at least 30 yards, including a 30-yard D.K. Metcalf touchdown with just 28 seconds before halftime. Smith also had touchdown passes of 61 and 31 yards to Tyler Lockett, who recorded a season-high 133 yards in the contest.

Prescott also threw a costly red zone interception in the 2nd quarter to Devon Witherspoon that ended a potential scoring drive for the Cowboys. The Seahawks turned the giveaway into Metcalf's touchdown - a potential 14-point swing in favor of Seattle. It was Witherspoon's second pick of the playoffs.

The Seahawks defense, after showcasing their dominance over the past month, bent but did not break at Lumen Field. They survived Prescott's 341 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. They withstood Tony Pollard's 8.2 rushing yards per carry as well as CeeDee Lamb's 91 yards. The offensive line, which has been battered since the beginning of the season, did not Smith to be sacked, standing up to Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. Pete Carroll called this game and moment as a turning point in the growth of his team.

"For most of the season we've heard the questions: 'Is this team legit? Are they for real? How are they going to survive without an offensive line?' This team went out there today and showed the world what they are capable of. We played 3 backups on the o-line, and I don't even want to call them backups because we make sure in every practice that we have every player ready to start. Zero sacks allowed. Dallas gave us their best and we stood up to them."

The win marks Seattle's first in the NFC Divisional round since the 2014 season, and they will face the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship after watching the 49ers defeat the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday in an instant classic. The last time the two teams met in the playoffs was last year when San Francisco blew out the Seahawks. However, the last time they met in the conference championship, the Seahawks triumphed over the 49ers to advance to Super Bowl XLVIII.

Scoring Summary

• 1st Quarter
  [DAL] Brandon Aubrey, 22-yard field goal [1:40]

• 2nd Quarter
  [SEA] Tyler Lockett, 61-yard pass from Geno Smith (J. Myers kick) [14:52]
  [SEA] D.K. Metcalf, 30-yard pass from Geno Smith (J. Myers kick) [0:28]

• 3rd Quarter
  [SEA] DeeJay Dallas, 2-yard run (J. Myers kick) [5:37]

• 4th Quarter
  [DAL] CeeDee Lamb, 5-yard pass from Dak Prescott (B. Aubrey kick) [14:14]
  [SEA] Tyler Lockett, 31-yard pass from Geno Smith (J. Myers kick) [12:41]
  [DAL] Jalen Brooks, 5-yard pass from Dak Prescott (B. Aubrey kick) [8:33]
  [DAL] Luke Schoonmaker, 1-yard pass from Dak Prescott (2-point conversion good) [2:53]

Notable Player Stats

• Dallas Cowboys (13-4)
  Dak Prescott, QB: 36 of 49 (73%), 341 yards, 3 TD, INT (104.2 passer rating)
  Tony Pollard, HB: 13 carries, 107 yards // 6 receptions, 46 yards
  CeeDee Lamb, WR: 9 receptions, 91 yards, TD
  Leighton Vander Esch, LB: 15 tackles, 2 TFL
  Rashaan Evans, LB: 7 tackles, TFL

• Seattle Seahawks (12-5)
  Geno Smith, QB: 16 of 24 (66%), 278 yards, 3 TD (145.4 passer rating)
  Kenneth Walker III, HB: 18 carries, 52 yards
  Tyler Lockett, WR: 6 receptions, 133 yards, 2 TD
  D.K. Metcalf, WR: 4 receptions, 64 yards, TD
  Quandre Diggs, S: 10 tackles
  Devin Bush, LB: 5 tackle, 2 TFL, 1 sack
  Devon Witherspoon, CB: 4 tackles, TFL, INT

[KimJongBaze]

Didn't get the help you needed, gonna need to nut up and get it done

Sheesh, offensive line further in shambles. Going to have to pull it off. Fuck the Cowboys.

YOU ALREADY KNOW!

[Captain Canada]

WE HERE!!!

Until CMC sneaks your shit

[Soapy]

idk how yall only allowed 25 points with that much production from the cowboys offense but we move

[KimJongBaze]

// DIVISIONAL ROUND WEEKEND \\

// Sweet Revenge: 49ers knock out 1st-seed Eagles
After losing Brock Purdy in last year's NFC Championship, the Niners were blown out of the water. Things were different this time, however, and with a healthy Purdy, San Francisco conquered the number 1 seed in the NFC by the score of 44 to 38 in what will go down as one of the most entertaining games in playoff history. The two teams combined for 82 points, tied for 3rd-most in the divisional round as well as 1,114 yards of offense. Purdy threw for 409 yards and 4 touchdowns while Deebo Samuel (178 yards, 1 touchdown) and Brandon Aiyuk (121 yards, 2 touchdowns) torched the Eagles secondary. Philadelphia comes up short of their second straight NFC Championship appearance despite Jalen Hurts' 398 yards and 3 touchdowns along with DeVonta Smith's game-leading 185 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Here's a recap of all the other divisional games that took place this weekend:

• Tennessee Titans 14, Buffalo Bills 31
  Tennessee's post season run came to a screeching halt against the AFC's number 1 seed. After taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, the Titans gave up 24 straight points and did not come within a single digit deficit afterwards. Josh Allen completed 85% of his passes for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns to send Buffalo back to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since the 2020 season, where they will face a familiar foe and playoff Achilles heel.

• Baltimore Ravens, 31, Kansas City Chiefs 32
  Lamar Jackson (324 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Patrick Mahomes (324 yards, 3 touchdowns) put up nearly identical stat lines and neither could be stopped, so it was only fitting that this game came down to the final possession, where Harrison Butker nailed a 37-yard field goal to give the Chiefs an opportunity to appear in the Super Bowl for the 4th time in 5 seasons. It will also be Kansas City's 6th straight season in the AFC Championship game. Recent history favors them against the Bills - the Chiefs have won their previous 2 games against Buffalo in the playoffs - last year in the divisional round, and in the 2020 season's conference championship.

• Dallas Cowboys 25, Seattle Seahawks 28
  Seattle was able to survive a 22-point 4th quarter from the Cowboys to make their first NFC Championship appearance since the 2014 season, setting up a showdown against their NFC West rival for the third time this season. The Seahawks defeated the 49ers in the 2013 conference championship game and went on to win the Super Bowl that year.

Players of the Week

• Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles: 26 of 45, 398 yards, 3 touchdowns
• Zach Cunningham, LB, Philadelphia Eagles: 13 tackles, 1 interception
• Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs: 33 of 43, 324 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception // 27 rushing yards, 1 touchdown
• Kyle Hamilton, S, Baltimore Ravens: 9 tackles, 1 sack

Notable Transactions

• No transactions

Injury Report

• Ed Oliver, DT, Buffalo Bills: 3 weeks (knee)
• Charles Cross, T, Seattle Seahawks: 1 week (shoulder)
• Damien Lewis, G, Seattle Seahawks: 1 week (thumb)

[KimJongBaze]

WE HERE!!!

Until CMC sneaks your shit

idk how yall only allowed 25 points with that much production from the cowboys offense but we move

They had several drives stall out at midfield to 45-yard line that resulted in punts. Couldn't stop them in that 4th quarter though and I was getting the bubble guts.

Madden simulation went bonkers in the divisional round if we get games like this irl that would be fire