<P> In the playoffs' Wild Card match up, the Seahawks hosted the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, who had previously beaten the Seahawks 34 - 19 in Week 11 . Though they fell behind by 10 points on two separate occasions during the game, a 4 - touchdown performance by Hasselbeck (two to Brandon Stokely) and an electrifying 67 - yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch late in the game propelled the Seahawks to a stunning 41 - 36 upset over the Saints . The game also was noteworthy for a small earthquake produced by the enormous noise generated by the 12th Man (Seahawks fans) at Qwest Field . The "Beast - quake", as it would be called, was a 67 - yard breakaway touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch (Seattle's running back who earned the nickname "Beast Mode") which proved to be the margin of victory . Reaction by the home crowd to the play resonated as seismic activity to local seismologists, thus earning the moniker . Lynch broke 9 tackles on the play and it proved to be the winning touchdown . It was also Hasselbeck's final game there, where he had played from 2001--2010 . </P> <P> The Seahawks then traveled to Chicago for a rematch with the Bears in the divisional round, but as most experts predicted, the latter won the game easily: thanks to two passing TDs and two rushing TDs by Jay Cutler, the Bears jumped out to a 21 - 0 halftime lead and eventually defeated the Seahawks 35 - 24 . It would mark the third time in five years that the Seahawks were eliminated in the divisional round, and the second time by the Bears . </P> <P> In 2011, the Seahawks let Hasselbeck go and made free agent acquisition Tarvaris Jackson their starting quarterback . The Seahawks opened 2 - 6 and then went on a 5 - 1 run capped by a big win in Chicago by a score of 38 - 14 pulling their record to 7 - 7 . But, the Seahawks lost a home game against San Francisco 19 - 17 and then lost at Arizona in OT . So, the team finished 7 - 9 which, unlike the previous year, wasn't enough to get them into the playoffs . </P> <P> During the offseason, the Seahawks changed their logo and uniforms . The team signed former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn to replace departing quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, and also drafted rookie QB Russell Wilson as the 75th pick in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft . Though Flynn was signed with the intention of being the starter for the 2012 season, Wilson's preseason performances were impressive enough that coach Carroll decided to name Wilson the starter for Week 1 against Arizona . </P>

When was the last time the seahawks didn't make the playoffs