The Seattle Seahawks moved one step closer to going back to the Super Bowl as they booked their place in the NFC championship game with a 31-17 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
The two sides struggled to move the ball in the early stages of the first quarter as the defenses dominated with some hard hitting at the line of scrimmage.
Seattle were the first to get on the scoreboard when Russell Wilson drove his team downfield before lofting a pass into the endzone, which was caught by Doug Baldwin for a 16-yard score.
Carolina hit back with an impressive touchdown drive as Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart ran the ball effectively before the quarterback hit Kelvin Benjamin in the endzone on a short slant route.
The Seahawks retook the lead on their next possession as Wilson lofted the ball up over Carolina's secondary for Jermaine Kearse, who made the catch and sprinted to the goalline, making a diving play to touch the pylon and register the 63-yard touchdown.
The Panthers brought themselves within four points when Earl Thomas failed to catch the ball cleanly on an interception on the goalline, and Graham Gano was able to kick a 35-yard field goal, despite the best efforts of a leaping Kam Chancellor.
In the second half, both sides struggled on offense again, but Seattle managed to break the second-half deadlock when Steven Hauschka fired a 37-yard field goal through the posts to put his team into a seven-point lead.
The home side took control of the game as Wilson engineered a strong drive to move his side within striking distance of further points, and the quarterback soon found Luke Willson for a catch-and-run touchdown from 25 yards.
Newton tried to respond as he led his team downfield to the 11-yard line, but his attempted pass into the flat was picked off by Chancellor, who ran the ball back for an 89-yard score.
The Panthers gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Newton found Benjamin at the back of the endzone with an accurate dart from 15 yards, but the Seahawks killed off the game with a late drive as they secured their win in the divisional-round match at CenturyLink Field.
Pete Carroll's men will host either the Green Bay Packers or the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC championship game.
Simon Sinclair
