Seahawks advance to Divisional round after Vikings miss 27-yard field goal to win

On a day when the temperature sat in the negatives at TCF Bank Stadium in Minnesota, the Seattle Seahawks' offense was frozen until the fourth quarter. With a 9-0 deficit entering the final 15 minutes, the Seahawks finally came to life to take a one-point lead over the Minnesota Vikings. The 10-9 score was preserved when Vikings kicker Blair Walsh missed a 27-yard missed field goal at the end of the game.

Walsh connected on three field goals earlier in the game, but all anyone will remember is a chip shot in the final seconds that he pushed wide left.

The cold was a huge factor early and often. Both teams struggled to do much on offense and were forced to pass on opportunities that would usually be within field goal range. Twice in the first half, the Seahawks punted after getting inside the Vikings' 40-yard line. Minnesota went into halftime leading 3-0.

A strong start to the second half followed the same narrative for the Seahawks. Russell Wilson threw an interception to Trae Waynes on fourth down despite a brilliant one-handed catch by Doug Baldwin that helped Seattle get into Vikings' territory for a third time in the game.

The interception from Wilson was followed by a short Vikings' drive to set up a 43-yard attempt from Walsh to extend the lead to 6-0. He also connected on a 22-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 47-yarder near the end of the third quarter that pushed the lead to 9-0.

On the ensuing drive, a goofy broken play on a bad snap for the Seahawks set up a touchdown pass from Wilson to Baldwin that cut the Vikings' lead to just two points.

After the Seahawks' first points of the game, Kam Chancellor was able to rip the ball free from Adrian Peterson just two plays into the next drive for the Vikings. The Seahawks were set up with a chance to take the lead.

Steven Hauschka, after watching from the sideline during previous trips into Minnesota territory, drilled a 46-yard field goal that gave the Seahawks a lead for the first time in the game.

With less than two minutes remaining, the Vikings had a final chance to regain the lead. Teddy Bridgewater managed to drive the team all the way to the Seahawks' 10-yard line with a big pass interference penalty on Chancellor followed by a 24-yard pass play to Kyle Rudolph.

But thanks to Walsh's miss, the Seahawks held onto the one-point lead and earned the victory.

With the win, the Seahawks advance to play the Carolina Panthers next Sunday in the NFC Divisional round. The Panthers finished 15-1, including a 27-23 win over Seattle in October, during the regular season. The Seahawks led 23-14 before the Panthers scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes of the game to earn the win and improve to 6-0.

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