Seahawks win exposes flaw in overtime rules


Seattle's Jermaine Kearse makes the game-winning catch in overtime. (Joe Nicholson, USA TODAY Sports)


Could there be a more thrilling end to an NFC Championship Game?

Unfortunately we’ll never know.

Russell Wilson’s touchdown bomb to Jermaine Kearse gave Seattle an overtime victory over Green Bay that will not be forgotten soon by anyone who watched it. Especially by Aaron Rodgers, who could do nothing but watch it.

The NFL overtime rule was improved a few years ago. It remains ridiculous.

The Seahawks won the toss, took the kickoff, drove for a touchdown and won. Just like that.

It’s like ending a baseball game on a home run in the top of the 10th. It’s like deciding a Masters playoff by giving it to the first guy who makes a putt.

MORE: Mike McCarthy to blame for Packers’ collapse

Sudden-death is OK in playoff hockey, when games can go deep into the morning. It doesn’t work anywhere else. What’s the rush? This particular game began before noon in Seattle.

There was plenty of time for Rodgers to take one last crack and produce something even more spectacular — or for the Seahawks defense to surpass its own reputation.

Make it a 10-minute overtime. Give each team just one time out. A 10-minute game within a game would not only give each offense a shot to win a gave that determines champions. It would keep the clock in play, as it was during the previous 60 minutes.

If the score is tied, play 10 more minutes. Considering the exhaustion of the defenses and the power of today’s field goal kickers, it probably won’t get that far.

Should Green Bay have finished the job, with a 16-0 halftime lead? Of course. It could not recover an onside kick and finally succumbed to the remarkable Marshawn Lynch.

GALLERY: One photo from every Super Bowl

The Packers also got commando performances from Julius Peppers, Clay Matthews, Ha Ha Clinton Dix, Eddie Lacy, Mason Crosby and so many more. They exposed a lot of things about the Seahawks. But they also gave Russell Wilson one final swing.

Wilson surpasses everything, including the mess he leaves behind. What’s more impressive than winning a playoff game without throwing an interception? Winning a playoff game while throwing four.

Wilson-or-Rodgers should have decided this wonderful championship game. Instead, we got heads-or-tails.

Fresh Off The Wire