Falcons survive a thriller against Seahawks with last-second field goal

Matt Bryant kicked a 49-yard field goal with 8 seconds left and the Atlanta Falcons bounced back after blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, defeating Russell Wilson and the gutty Seattle Seahawks 30-28 in an NFC divisional playoff game Sunday.

The Falcons (14-3) appeared ready to allow the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in NFL playoff history when Marshawn Lynch scored on a 2-yard run with 31 seconds left.

But Matt Ryan completed two long passes after the kickoff, setting up Bryant's winning kick and sending the Falcons to the NFC championship game for only the third time in franchise history. They will host the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday.

Wilson passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, but it wasn't enough for the Seahawks (12-6).

Complete coverage of the road to Super Bowl XLVII on CBSSports.com

The rookie finished with 385 yards passing and did all he could to lead the Seahawks back from a 27-7 deficit entering the fourth quarter. When Lynch powered over in the final minute, a play set up by Wilson's brilliant scramble, Seattle celebrated like it would be moving on.

Not so fast.

Ryan, who had struggled in his first three playoff appearances, had just enough time to rally the Falcons. He hooked up with Harry Douglas on a 29-yard pass in front of the Falcons bench, and coach Mike Smith quickly signaled a timeout. Then, Ryan went down the middle to his favorite target, tight end Tony Gonzalez, a Hall of Famer-to-be playing what could've been his final game.

Gonzalez hauled in the 19-yard throw, and Smith called his final timeout with 13 seconds remaining. Instead of risking another play and having the clock run out, he sent Bryant in for the field goal try.

The Seahawks called time just before the ball was snapped, and Bryant's kick sailed right of the upright. That turned out to be nothing more than practice. The next one was right down the middle, giving the Falcons a stunning victory.

Wilson's last throw, a desperation heave into the end zone, was intercepted by Falcons receiver Julio Jones.

Seahawks end first half with no time left, and no points in red-zone debacles

The Seattle Seahawks went into the visitors' locker room at the Georgia Dome In Atlanta down 20-0, and nobody to blame but themselves. A defense that has been stout all season allowed 268 yards on 34 plays, and the Falcons converted four of their seven third-down opportunities. On offense, Seattle was far more worrisome -- especially in the red zone. With 6:22 left in the second quarter, the Seahawks had the ball at the Atlanta 11-yard line and two downs to do something with it.

On third-and-1, and with Marshawn Lynch on the sideline, rookie running back Robert Turbin couldn't convert. Pete Carroll got Lynch back on the field for fourth-and-1, and Russell Wilson handed the ball off to Michael Robinson, who couldn't get to the first-down marker on the fullback blast. Had Robinson been blocking for Lynch, he most likely would have picked up safety William Moore, who crashed in to stop Robinson.

Then, at the end of the half, the Seahawks went through a series of plays that will haunt them all offseason if this is indeed the end of their run. Seattle drove well on a journey that started from their own 20-yard line with 4:16 left in the game, but they could not score despite eight total plays in the Atlanta red zone. A false start penalty on left tackle Russell Okung didn't help, nor did a Jonathan Babineaux sack of Russell Wilson with time running down at the end of the half. 

The Seahawks couldn't get back to the line of scrimmage for another play back from the Falcons' 20-yard line, and they had burned all of their timeouts.

On the final play of the half, it appeared as if Wilson got the snap before the clock ran out, but as the Seahawks' line wasn't set, it would have been a penalty and a 10-second runoff.

The Falcons are running on full-blast right now, and the Seahawks will have to do a total re-set if they want any chance in this game.