Seahawks Shut Down Smith To Advance to First Super Bowl

SEATTLE – With their MVP back in business, a fierce defense and all the comforts of playing at home, the Seattle Seahawks had everything they needed to get to their first Super Bowl.And they did, easily.Shaun Alexander came back from last week’s concussion to rush for a team playoff-record 132 yards and two touchdowns yesterday, and Seattle pressured Carolina stars Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith into oblivion in a 34-14 rout for the NFC championship.The Seahawks picked off three passes in winning their 12th straight home game and shattering the fifth seeded Panthers’ stunning postseason road run.The NFC’s best team during the season, the Seahawks (15-3) will have to beat yet another wild card, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in the Super Bowl in Detroit on February 5. Pittsburgh beat Denver 34-17 earlier in the day.“We’re not done yet,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “We’ve got another game we’ve got to go win.”While Alexander paced the ball control offense, it was the defense that really carried the Seahawks. It yielded only 62 yards, three first downs and no real threats in the first half.Then, with Carolina desperate, Seattle allowed virtually nothing until it had a 20-point lead.Mike Holmgren, only the fifth coach to lead two franchises to the Super Bowl – he won in 1997 and lost in 1998 with Green Bay – praised his defense this week for the enormous pressure it applied to opponents all season. That defense led the league in sacks and was always in Delhomme’s face, helping force two first-half interceptions that were decisive.The Panthers weren’t helped when starting running back Nick Goings was sidelined in the first quarter after a massive hit by linebacker Lofa Tatupu. They already were minus their top two runners, Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster.The Seahawks had their horse, though, and by the second half, they could turn to Alexander. As he always has this season, he delivered some big runs as the crowd chanted “M-V-P, M-V-P.”Hasselbeck finished off the Panthers (13-6) with a gorgeous pump fake that had cornerback Chris Gamble on all fours. Darrell Jackson caught the 20-yard pass for a 27-7 lead, and it was time to celebrate in the Pacific Northwest.Several players did a Qwest Field leap into the stands at the end as the crowd chanted “Super Bowl, Super Bowl.” Their 30-year-old team, which tried to leave Seattle for Los Angeles a decade ago, is, indeed, headed for the big game.Alexander grabbed the George Halas Trophy and carried it down the field as majestically as he totes a football. He only stopped when he reached the end zone, surrounded by photographers and cheerleaders.Seahawks owner Paul Allen raised the team’s 12th man flag, then waved a white towel to whip the crowd of 67,837 into a frenzy.

Seahawks Shut Down Smith To Advance to First Super Bowl

Seahawks Shut Down Smith To Advance to First Super Bowl

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