Crowd drama!

Green Bay Packers v Seattle Seahawks / Steph Chambers/GettyImages

For like the last twenty years, all we’ve been hearing about is how hard it is to play in Seattle. Whether it’s the rain or the stadium’s weird acoustics or Kam Chancellor, the Seahawks have always benefited from very on-brand home field advantage, and only a half-dozen teams have a better home record over the last 10 seasons. It’s become a bit of a Thing over that time, and now it’s the opening line of every Seahawks broadcast.

At least [/puts on tinfoil hat] that’s what they want you to think. It’s easy to assume that just because it’s a big neon green Sunday Night Football game at home against one of the best teams in the NFC, that the Seahawks’ crowd would bring it. They always do! Some borderline A-list celebrity from Seattle would raise the flag, they’d make a few richter scale references, and we’d be off.

You see why nostalgia is so powerful. Because as it turns out, that’s extremely not the case this week. Thanks to one (1) single tweet from one (1) single angle at Lumen Field, it sure looks like most of the bottom bowl is full of Packers fans.

Seattle’s infamous 12th Man sure doesn’t look like it used to

Embarrassing https://t.co/oFEZXRhL3X pic.twitter.com/KdK7bVcZ9H

— Мохаммад (@SeaGoat03) December 16, 2024

A Go! Pack! Go! cheer too? That’s a tough look for Seattle. I don’t blame anyone for staying home on Sunday night, but Seahawks fans have a certain reputation that they need to live up to. And Green Bay fans travel well, but that means in, like, Arizona. And Washington. And obviously Las Vegas. There really isn’t an excuse for Seahawks fans getting even optically outnumbered in their own stadium on a nationally-televised night game.

On another note, how about a quick round of applause for the Cheesehead. It makes dunking on opposing fans so much easier. If no one in this picture was wearing a giant wedge of cheese on their head, I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone apart. But because there are dozens and dozens and dozens of people wearing giant wedges of cheese on their heads for a football game, the crowd size punchline really lands. It’s a good bit.

Romeo Doubs, Edgerrin Cooper Help Packers Beat Seahawks 30-13

The Green Bay Packers improved to 10-4 by snapping the Seattle Seahawks’ four-game winning streak 30-13 on Sunday night.

Green Bay Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare (55) sacks Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell (6). / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Jordan Love threw two touchdown passes to Romeo Doubs as the Green Bay Packers continued their march to another playoff berth by beating the Seattle Seahawks 30-13 on Sunday night at Lumen Field.

Green Bay (10-4) has won eight of its last 10 games. The two losses were to the Detroit Lions (12-2), who remain No. 1 in the NFC North despite their loss to the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field.

Seattle (8-6) had its four-game winning streak snapped. It didn’t have a prayer after he suffered a knee injury in the third quarter.

After sweeping the AFC South, the Packers completed a season sweep of the NFC West. Packers coach Matt LaFleur has won 11 consecutive regular-season games against that division.

Doubs had missed the past two games with a concussion. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, who had missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, made a huge impact upon his return to the lineup, as well.

Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, who sacked Smith in the first quarter, injured Smith early in the third quarter.

With Seattle trailing 23-6 but approaching the red zone on its second possession of the second half, Smith was pressured by Brenton Cox and Cooper. Smith went airborne to unload the ball and Cooper launched himself forward. He hit Smith low, and Smith’s feet got trapped underneath him as he hit the turf.

Smith wanted a penalty but none was thrown. He was helped off the field, limped to the locker room and was deemed questionable with a knee injury.

Sam Howell, a fifth-round draft pick by the Commanders in 2022, stepped into the lineup. With Washington last year, he led the NFL with 612 pass attempts and 21 interceptions.

Howell started 1-of-5 but got the Seahawks into the end zone, with Josh Jacobs’ fumble setting up Zach Charbonnet’s 24-yard touchdown run, which made it 23-13 with 11:16 remaining.

With 5:50 remaining and the Seahawks managing to hang around, Cooper struck again. After Karl Brooks sacked Howell on first down, Cooper intercepted Howell on second down. Three plays later, on third-and-5, Love and Doubs connected on a highlight-reel touchdown.

The line held up against Seattle’s blitz, and Doubs made an all-hands catch of a low pass in the back of the end zone to make it 30-13 with 4:59 to play.

Jacobs carried 26 times for 94 yards and one touchdown and added four catches for 42 yards. Love was 20-of-27 passing for 229 yards and two touchdowns, good for a 123.8 passer rating.

Defensively, Green Bay had seven sacks – two by Kingsley Enagbare and one apiece by Cooper, Brooks, Rashan Gary, Brenton Cox and Devonte Wyatt.

Green Bay outgained the Seahawks 369-208.

It was total domination in the first half for the Packers as they raced to a 20-3 halftime lead. Four possessions resulted in four scores.

It was fair to wonder if Green Bay’s three-day rest advantage might outweigh Seattle’s raucous home crowd.

The Packers looked fresh and fast following last Thursday’s loss at Detroit.

Especially Jacobs.

Starting from their 37, Jacobs caught a screen for 4 and another screen for 13 more, with 15 tacked on due to cornerback Riq Woolen’s roughing-the-passer penalty. Jacobs followed with runs of 3, 4, 5, 9, 4 and 1.

Jacobs got a one-play breather, with Love scrambling 4 yards to the 1. On third-and-goal, Zach Tom had the key block on Jacobs’ touchdown.

After missing three games, Edgerrin Cooper had a third-down sack on the ensuing possession. The Packers were in the end zone moments later.

Jacobs turned a checkdown into a gain of 21 and a toss into a gain of 19. On second-and-goal from the 7, Love fired a slant to Romeo Doubs. After missing two games with a concussion, he took two defenders into the end zone for a 14-0 lead.

After the teams traded field goals, the Seahawks were on the cusp of making it a one-score game and with the ball to start the second half.

Instead, Smith threw one of those bad interceptions that’s dogged him all season. He tried to lob the ball to tight end Noah Fant for a touchdown. Instead, cornerback Carrington Valentine left his man, got under the route and made a leaping interception.

The Packers turned the takeaway into a chip-shot field goal just before halftime.

Love was 12-of-13 passing for 142 yards and one touchdown. Jacobs, who had a bunch of touchdowns but not a lot of yards against Miami and Detroit, had 14 carries for 73 yards plus three receptions for 38 yards for a total of 111 yards.