Green Bay has a (snow)ball in rout

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- It appeared to be a perfect setting for the Packers.

Lambeau Field, sold out for the 267th straight game, resembled a giant snow globe, and the temperature was just below freezing as Saturday's divisional-round playoff game began.

But it got ugly in a hurry for the home team and most of the 72,168 witnesses -- the largest crowd in the history of the NFL's oldest stadium -- although only for a short while.

The game looked like a major blowout early when the visiting Seattle Seahawks capitalized on 2 turnovers by running back Ryan Grant and grabbed an early 14-0 lead after just four minutes and one second.

And it did turn out to be a rout, but there was one gigantic momentum shift along the way. There was no panic on the Packers' sideline when the bottom seemed to fall out early, but there was concern.

"When we got behind 14-0," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, "I was concerned the weather would turn bad."

It did, but it hardly mattered to the Packers, who have won 18 of their last 21 games, starting with a four-game winning streak to conclude the 2006 season.

By the time the snow flurries escalated to a blizzard in the third quarter, obliterating any markings on the field, McCarthy's team had the game safely in hand and a berth in the NFC championship game against the winner of today's Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game.

Scoring touchdowns on six straight possessions after giving up the two early scores, the Packers romped 42-20, spoiling the homecoming for Seattle coach Mike Holmgren.

Holmgren guided the Packers for seven years from 1992-98 before leaving for the Pacific Northwest.

The huge deficit only seemed to inspire the Packers, who responded with 4 touchdowns before halftime, including 21 straight points for a 28-17 lead.

"Talk about poise and composure," said McCarthy, after his first postseason game as a head coach. "Our guys really stepped up. I was very proud, especially after the start we had."

Brett Favre, naturally, started the comeback, completing 4 straight passes for 65 yards, the last a 15-yard TD to Greg Jennings to halve the lead with 7:08 left in the first quarter. It was the 17th straight postseason game in which Favre has thrown a TD pass, extending his NFL record.

Then, with the snow accumulating and starting to obscure the yard lines, Grant (201 rushing yards) atoned for his 2 turnovers by carrying five times for 49 yards, including a 1-yard TD and a 14-14 tie with 1:02 still left in the quarter. The 28 combined points tied the most ever in the opening quarter of an NFL postseason game.

Jennings added another TD catch, a 2-yarder, just 2:40 later, after defensive end Aaron Kampman recovered a Marcus Pollard fumble, which was caused by safety Atari Bigby. Grant scored a 3-yard touchdown 26 seconds before intermission one play after Favre spun away from a sack attempt and underhanded an 11-yard flip to tight end Donald Lee on third-and-8.

"When I got away, I stumbled over something, and it might have been my own feet," Favre joked. "It's happened before."

It was the exclamation point on another in a seemingly endless line of clutch performances by Favre, who completed 18 of 23 passes for 173 yards without an interception.

"Brett was extremely sharp; he threw the ball very well," said McCarthy, who wasn't convinced that the underhanded prayer was a great idea when it left Favre's hand. "I went 'wow,' but I guarantee you I didn't start out saying 'wow,' " McCarthy said.

Favre's third TD pass early in the third quarter, and Grant's third TD run early in the fourth, as the snow continued to blanket the field, made it six touchdown drives in a row in the Packers' Winter Wonderland.

They believe it's just another step toward the ultimate goal.

"It's a very confident team," McCarthy said. "They believe they're going to win the Super Bowl."