Seahawks stun Packers 28-22 on touchdown in overtime

SEATTLE – The loudest stadium in America was silent. A return trip to the Super Bowl was slipping away.

Time for the Seattle Seahawks to show why they are champions.

"You have the belief these guys have in one another, there is nothing you can't do," coach Pete Carroll said after an implausible comeback for a 28-22 victory over Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game Sunday.

Plagued by turnovers and outplayed much of the day, the Seahawks staged a stunning rally built on resilience. Russell Wilson, who struggled until the final minutes, hit Jermaine Kearse for a 35-yard touchdown 3:19 into the extra period to win it.

The Seahawks became the first defending champion to make the Super Bowl in 10 years.

"The will and the drive of these men is unbelievable," Wilson said. "We always find a way to finish."

Seattle (14-4) trailed 19-7 with about four minutes remaining and had been ineffective on offense all game. Wilson finally put a drive together with passes to Doug Baldwin and Marshawn Lynch — initially ruled a touchdown but called back because he stepped out of bounds. Wilson finished with a 1-yard scoring run to cut the lead to 19-14 with 2:09 left.

Aaron Rodgers, limping on an injured calf, calmly led the Packers (13-5) downfield to set up Mason Crosby's fifth field goal, a 48-yarder with 14 seconds to go to force overtime.

Then Wilson and Kearse struck, with Kearse — the target on all four of Wilson's interceptions — beating Tramon Williams on the winning pass. Kearse has also caught the winning score in last year's conference title win over San Francisco.

"Just making the plays at the end and keep believing," said Wilson, who was overwhelmed and sobbing after the game. "There was no doubt ... we had no doubt as a team."

Until the final minutes, there seemed to be no doubt the Packers were headed to the big game Feb. 1 in Glendale, Ariz. Despite All-Pro Rodgers' injury, Green Bay and its overlooked defense was carrying the day.

"It's going to be a missed opportunity that I'll probably think about for the rest of my career," Rodgers said. "We were the better team today, we played well enough to win. We can't blame anybody but ourselves."