The Carolina Panthers' reward for going 15-1? Facing the two-time defending NFC champs in the Divisional Round.
Unable to score a point through three quarters in freezing Minnesota, the Seahawks rallied past the Vikings on Sunday to win their Wild Card meeting, 10-9.
Because the Panthers are the top seed in the NFC, they earned the right to play the lowest-remained seed after this weekend. That'll be No. 6 Seattle.
Call it lucky or good, the Seahawks' fate turned on two plays. The first came early in the fourth when quarterback Russell Wilson whipped up some magic:
Russell Wilson: Part Man, Part Magician
pic.twitter.com/SpJ6ThqlWd
— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) January 10, 2016
After allowing 10 straight points, the Vikings had a chance to send their frigid fans home happy, but Vikings kicker Blair Walsh missed a 27-yard field goal with 26 seconds left. Before that, Walsh was 3-for-3, including two kicks from 40-plus yards.
Before Sunday, playoff teams since the 1970 merger were 1-43 when shut out through three quarters. The Seahawks joined the 1978 Falcons as the second to pull off such a rally. Seattle has also won five postseason games under coach Pete Carroll after trailing by nine or more points.
When the Panthers and Seahawks kick off at 1:05 next Sunday, it'll be the sixth meeting in the past four seasons between the two. Until Carolina's comeback win in the Pacific Northwest in October, Seattle had won four straight in the series since 2012, including last year's Divisional Round.
Many Panthers fans had been hoping to avoid a rematch, but their team will come in with the NFL's best regular-season record and a league-best 11-game home win streak.