Marshawn Lynch racked up 110 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Seattle Seahawks past the Green Bay Packers in the NFL season opener, 36-16, at CenturyLink Field on Thursday night.
On the eve of the NFL’s opener, all eyes were on the Pacific Northwest and the defending champion Seahawks.
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Prior to the league’s first game, the Seahawks raised their Super Bowl XLVIII championship banner in front of an anxious 12th Man fanbase that had waited nearly 40 years to watch that glorious moment.
But the joy quickly turned to focus — focus on a team from Wisconsin that would have loved nothing more than to upset the Seahawks on their memorable night.
The Green Bay Packers came into CenturyLink Field ready for a rough-and-tough game.
And they got one.
The Seahawks offense looked slightly rusty at first, but overall good early in the game, and they scored the first points of the NFL season when Steven Hauschka kicked a 35-yard field goal about halfway through the first quarter.
But after a fierce defensive stop, new punt returner Earl Thomas muffed the return, fumbling the ball deep in Seahawks territory. The Packers recovered and quickly scored a touchdown, a 2-yard rush from John Kuhn that gave Green Bay a 7-3 lead.
The Seahawks regained their composure in the second quarter and on a perfectly-executed play-action, Russell Wilson hit Ricardo Lockette for a 33-yard touchdown pass. It was Seattle’s first touchdown of the year and Lockette’s first TD reception since 2011.
But the Packers weren’t ready to back down at all, and were back on the board minutes later when Mason Crosby hit a chip-shot 23-yard field goal to tie the game at 10-10.
Unphased, the Seahawks got hot quickly on a cool Seattle night, rattling off 19 straight points — courtesy of Lynch, Hauschka and great defense.
Lynch got the unanswered scoring streak started with a 9-yard TD run in the second quarter to give the Seahawks a 17-10 lead. Hauschka followed with 20-yard field goal after a Byron Maxwell interception, and then the Seahawks defense forced a safety late in the third quarter to give Seattle a comfortable 22-10 lead.
Five seconds into the fourth quarter, Lynch made it 29-10 with a 3-yard rush, his second touchdown of the game.
The Packers scored another touchdown late when Aaron Rodgers hit Randall Cobb for a 9-yard score to make it 29-16, but they failed on their two-point attempt. Cobb had six catches for 58 yards.
Rodgers finished the night 23 of 33 for 189 yards, the touchdown and an interception.
The Seahawks put the finishing touches on the game when Wilson led Derrick Coleman into the end zone, a 15-yard touchdown that gave the Seahawks 36 points and, ultimately, a 36-16 victory.
Despite an impressive performance by Green Bay’s Eddie Lacy, the Seahawks out-ran the Packers by more than 100 yards.
Seattle finished the contest with more than 200 rushing yards while the defense held the Packers to just 80 yards on the ground.
The Seahawks also racked up 398 total yards and 25 first downs.
Russell Wilson went 19 of 28 for 191 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His favorite receiver was Percy Harvin, who had a team-high seven receptions.
Harvin had a great night, catching those seven passes for 59 yards, rushing four times for 41 yards and returning three kickoffs for 60 yards.
Bobby Wagner led all players on defense with 14 total tackles.
The Seahawks (1-0) will travel to Southern California to play the San Diego Chargers in their next contest, which won’t come until Sept. 14.
The Packers (0-1) will return to Lambeau Field on the same day to host the New York Jets.
Seattle has won their last six home openers and outscored their opponents 164-58.