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Seahawks open title defense with rout of Packers

Sep 5, 2014 - 4:59 AM Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - If heavy is the head that wears the crown, the Seattle Seahawks showed Thursday they have the broad shoulders to carry it.

Marshawn Lynch ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns for the defending champions and Seattle's defense wreaked its usual havoc en route to a 36-16 victory over the Green Bay Packers to kick off the 2014 NFL season.

The Seahawks unveiled the franchise's first Super Bowl banner prior to kickoff with a capacity crowd at CenturyLink Field emitting their signature deafening boom, and the hosts responded in a resounding rout.

The battle in the trenches heavily favored the Seahawks, who gained 207 yards on the ground to Green Bay's 80.

"I'm mostly fired up that we ran the ball for over 200 yards," Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said.

Percy Harvin was a focal point of Seattle's offense, catching seven passes for 59 yards and running four times for 41 yards, while Russell Wilson passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns.

The Packers, who are vying for their fourth straight NFC North title this season, were felled by a mistake-filled third quarter.

Aaron Rodgers took very few chances downfield and tossed for just 189 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

"They're a great defense," Rodgers said. "You've got to make the most of your opportunities. Got to score more points."

Adding injury to insult, running back and reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Eddie Lacy underwent evaluation for a concussion following the game. Lacy was limited to 34 yards on 12 carries.

Green Bay's first three drives in the second half ended in an interception, a turnover on downs and a safety, respectively -- a one-sided stretch that turned a 17-10 Seahawks lead into a 19-point cushion.

Rodgers' first pass after the break went off the hands of Jordy Nelson and into the arms of Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell, who returned the pick to the Green Bay 8-yard line.

Steven Hauschka made it 20-10 with a 20-yard field goal, and after Rodgers was sacked on fourth down on the next possession, punter Jon Ryan pinned the Packers down to their own 10.

On the next snap, Michael Bennett came around the right end and stripped Rodgers of the ball, which skipped into the end zone and was pounced on by a Packers lineman for a safety.

A 9-play, 53-yard drive ended in Lynch's 3-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, and the deficit was too much for Green Bay to overcome.

Rodgers and Randall Cobb hooked up for a 3-yard touchdown, and Derrick Coleman caught a 15-yard TD from Wilson on a fourth down play in the closing minutes.

Seattle's first drive of the game was extended on a running into the kicker penalty, and Hauschka's 35-yard field goal accounted for the season's first points.

A break went Green Bay's way later in the opening quarter when Richard Sherman unknowingly blocked a Packers defender into Earl Thomas as he was fielding a punt. Thomas fumbled it away at the Seattle 34-yard line, and the Packers turned the short field into seven points via John Kuhn's 1-yard plunge.

The Seahawks regained the lead six snaps later. Harvin's 33-yard catch-and-run moved the ball to the Green Bay 33-yard line, and on the next play, a well- executed read option pass saw Ricardo Lockette slip into the open field and haul in Wilson's play-action pass. Lockette only had one defender to beat and broke a tackle en route to his second career touchdown.

Green Bay settled for a 23-yard Mason Crosby field goal after a 44-yard pass interference penalty set them up inside the 10-yard line.

Again Seattle answered quickly, with Lynch capping a 6-play, 70-yard drive with a 9-yard TD run to give the Seahawks a 17-10 halftime lead.

"We're very tough and very determined to be a very good football team," Carroll said.

Game Notes

The last time these teams met in Seattle ended in the infamous "Fail Mary" play ... Wilson improved to 18-1 at home, including playoffs ... Lockette's only other touchdown came in the final week of the 2011 season ... Packers offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga and tight end Richard Rodgers collided on the same play in the second quarter and neither returned ... Crosby has connected on 15 straight field goal tries ... Steve Largent, Cortez Kennedy and Walter Jones -- Seattle's three Hall-of-Famers -- raised the 12th Man flag before the game.