Someone tell me I did not slip into my normal coma-like state on the sofa while watching that Seahawks-Packers game.
I need someone to give me a cold, hard slap in the face.
Then tell me, honestly, the Seahawks did not really win that game, did they?
Actually, they did.
And all night I've been thinking of basically only one thing.
What do you think the reaction would be this morning in Philly if our bedraggled Birds had done what Green Bay managed to pull off yesterday. That being snatching a bitter loss from the jaws of victory.
Agony of defeat? That doesn't even begin to explain this one.
The Packers were up 16-0 at halftime. The Seahawks looked dead in the water. Russell Wilson looked completely lost. Seattle did not register a first down until half way through the second quarter. Their first two possessions resulted in turnovers.
But Eagles fans no doubt were shaking their heads when the Packers had to settle for field goals in both of those early first quarter gifts bestowed on them. You just knew it would come back to haunt them.
It did.
They were just about to pronounce the Seahawks dead on arrival, when the first of several weird things happened. Instead of kicking what really would have been a fairly meaningless field goal, Pete Carroll went way out on a limb and instead called a fake. It resulted in a touchdown and life.
Then the ball started slowly, inevitably rolling downhill for the Pack.
Seatle was still down 19-7 with four minutes left in the game and Russell Wilson and their offense doing absolutely nothing. Eventually Wilson managed to drive the Seahawks for a score to close the gap to 19-14.
Cue the music from the Twilight Zone.
Seattle ran an onside kick, which everyone on the planet knew was coming, except maybe for the Green Bay coaching staff. The kick went to Packers tight end Brandon Bostick. He couldn't handle it. You kind of knew was was going to happen next. The Seahawks scored again and then put a little icing on the cake with a desperation heave by Wilson on the two-point conversion, which of course landed in the arms of Luke Wilson.
22-19 Seattle with 1:25 remaining. Unreal.
But Aaron Rodgers was not done. He expertly drove the Packers into position for a Mason Crosby field goal to knot the game the send it into overtime.
The Seahawks got the ball and never looked back. Remember that in the NFL, in overtime if the team that wins the coin toss and takes the ball wins if they score a TD. Only if they kick a field goal does the opposing offense get a shot. Wilson took care of that with his best pass of the day, a perfect 35-yard strike on a post pattern right down the center of the field to Jermaine Kearse.
The Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl.
The Packers are going somewhere familiar to Philly fans. Trying to figure out how they managed to lose that game.
We have our Joe Jurevicious running down the field. Now the Packers and their fans have Jermaine Kearse.
I rarely feel bad for the incredibly well-paid people who populate professional sports.
But I can admit I actually felt for Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy in a post-game press conference as he tried to explain what had just happened.
Take it from someone who knows, coach. There is no explanation. And there is no relief. It will hurt for a long time.
The next Super Bowl the Eagles win will be their first.
We feel your pain, coach.
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