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Fake field goal gets Seahawks on the board

NFC Championship Football

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll gestures before the NFL football NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

AP

The Seahawks offense hasn’t put any points on the board, but the team is no longer scoreless.

Pete Carroll opted for a bit of trickery when a Seattle drive stalled at the Green Bay 20-yard-line in the third quarter and had holder Jon Ryan throw a pass rather than place the ball for a Steven Hauschka field goal. Ryan hit wide-open reserve offensive lineman Garry Gilliam for the first Seattle points of the game.

Curtis Crabtree of PFT and KJR Radio in Seattle points out that Gilliam was a tight end for most of his time at Penn State and that the Seahawks were working on that play during practice this week.

The drive that preceded the score was saved by a 29-yard pass from Russell Wilson to Doug Baldwin on third-and-19, a situation that was set up by a costly sack by linebacker Clay Matthews after the Seahawks had moved into Packers territory. That’s the longest play of the day for the Seahawks, but Gilliam’s catch is the biggest as they try to come back for a second straight trip to the Super Bowl.

The Packers lead 16-7 with under five minutes left to play in the third quarter.