GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (Ticker) -- Matt Hasselbeck guaranteed a score in overtime. He didn't plan on doing it for his former team.
Cornerback Al Harris picked off a pass by Hasselbeck and raced 52 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown 4:25 into overtime to give the Green Bay Packers a thrilling 33-27 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in an NFC wild card game.
"Playoff football usually comes down to one big play one way or the other and obviously, they made the last play of the game," said Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, who coached the Packers to a Super Bowl title in 1996. "But it hurts. It hurts bad to lose this game."
Ironically, the Packers (11-6) will play Harris' former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, on January 11 in the divisional playoffs.
Acquired from the Eagles last March for a second-round pick, Harris was the unlikely overtime hero in a game that matched Packers star quarterback Brett Favre against his former coach and NFC rushing leader Ahman Green against his former team.
But it was Hasselbeck, a backup to Favre from 1998-2000, who nearly stole the show. He passed for 305 yards and engineered three second-half touchdown drives, all ending with Shaun Alexander crashing into the end zone. Alexander's third one-yard score tied it at 27-27 with 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
That was enough time for Favre, who completed two short passes and a 30-yarder over the middle to Javon Walker to set up a 47-yard field goal attempt by Ryan Longwell. Longwell's attempt fell a few yards short, sending the game to overtime.
After Seattle (10-7) won the coin flip, Hasselbeck told referee Bernie Kukar, "We want the ball and we're going to score."
After each team failed on its first overtime possession, Hasselbeck made his critical mistake on 3rd-and-10. Trying to hit Alex Bannister near the first down marker, Hasselbeck fired a pass into the hands of Harris, who cut in front of the receiver at the Green Bay 48.
With his long dreadlocks flapping out the back of his helmet, Harris raced down the right sideline directly past Holmgren. Hasselbeck did his best to chase down the speedy cornerback and attempted a diving tackle at the Seattle 8.
"I just broke on the ball and the play was there to be made and I wasn't going to let the quarterback catch me," said Harris, who was mobbed by teammates before he could make a "Lambeau Leap" into the crowd.
"What hurts about it is I had the ball in my hand and I could have done something different," Hasselbeck said. "I could have thrown the ball away, I could have seen him. But I didn't."
As usual, Favre thrived in the cold weather, improving to 36-1 at Lambeau Field when the temperature is 34 degrees or below. With the temperature at 20, Favre completed 26-of-38 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown. He broke a record by throwing for a TD in his 14th straight playoff game, connecting with tight end Bubba Franks on a 23-yard score in the second quarter.
"This is what it's all about," said Favre, who has played with a heavy heart since the death of his father on December 21. "It takes a lot out of you, but that's why it's playoff football. They played a hell of a football game. It could have easily gone their way."
But it was Hasselbeck who dominated the third quarter, going 11-of-14 for 136 yards and engineering touchdown drives of 74 and 77 yards. Alexander capped both with one-yard runs, giving the Seahawks a 20-13 lead.
Favre was not about to be upstaged by his former understudy. The three-time MVP, who led the Packers to a 4-0 record in December, directed a 12-play, 60-yard drive.
Green converted on 4th-and-1 from the 3, breaking a tackle by linebacker Randall Godfrey behind the line of scrimmage before surging ahead for two yards. On the next play, Green scored to tie it with 10:01 left in the fourth quarter.
Traded by Holmgren to Green Bay in 2000 for spare cornerback Fred Vinson, Green was held to 66 yards on 23 carries but twice reached the end zone. His second TD run capped a 12-play drive that consumed nearly seven minutes and gave the Packers a 27-20 lead.
