Al Harris scored on a 52-yard interception return in overtime to lift the Green Bay Packers past the Seattle Seahawks 33-27 Sunday in a first-round NFC playoff game.
Harris, known as much for the dreadlocks that peek outside his helmet as his play at cornerback, picked off Matt Hasselbeck's throw and headed to the end zone -- directly past former Packers coach Mike Holmgren. Only Hasselbeck had a chance to tackle Harris, but he couldn't get there before Harris surged into the end zone.
The defender never got a chance at a Lambeau Leap. His teammates tackled him, setting off a wild celebration that included a victory lap by Harris.
PHOTO: AFP
"I was just praying that he did throw the ball," Harris said, "because I was going to gamble on that play."
Harris' heroics sent the Packers (11-6) to Philadelphia next Sunday, while the Seahawks (10-7) -- and Holmgren -- go home knowing they let a prime opportunity slip away.
"I'm dying inside," Holmgren said. "It hurts bad to lose this game."
PHOTO: REUTERS
Seattle tied the game with 51 seconds remaining on Shaun Alexander's third 1-yard touchdown run. Then Packers kicker Ryan Longwell was short on a 47-yard field goal attempt as regulation time expired.
Seattle won the coin toss, and Hasselbeck told the official, "We want the ball, and we're going to score."
The Seahawks got the ball and punted. After Seattle got the ball back, it was Harris, a six-year veteran in his first season with the Packers, who scored on the game's only turnover.
"I anticipated it," Harris said, "and I know the quarterback ain't going to catch me."
Colts 41, Broncos 10
In Indianapolis, Peyton Manning and the Baltimore Colts routed the Denver Broncos to put to rest any questions about Manning's ability to win a big game.
The Colts (13-4) will face the Kansas City Chiefs in the second-round next Sunday.
The NFL's co-MVP threw for touchdowns on each of the Colts' first four possessions and finished 22-of-26 for 377 yards and five TDs, the third time in 17 games this season he had five or more TD tosses.
That made Manning the first ever to do that.
"It was one of those days that everything seemed to go right," said Manning, 1-3 in the postseason. "It's good to get the monkey off my back, but we've got more work to do now."
When he left the game in the fourth quarter, Manning had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 for the second time this season.
"It was really awesome to see from the sidelines," Colts coach Tony Dungy said.
Manning might have had five TDs in the first half had time not run out and forced Mike Vanderjagt to kick a field goal. No problem: Manning threw his fifth on the first series of the second half.
Denver's day was defined by one play: a 46-yard TD pass from Manning to Marvin Harrison late in the first period.
Harrison caught the ball at the Broncos 30 and fell to the turf. Three Broncos -- Lenny Walls, Kelly Herndon and Al Wilson -- surrounded him, but when no one touched him down, Harrison casually rolled over and started running for the end zone.
No whistle. Touchdown. And though that made it just 14-3 with three quarters left, the game was over. Denver coach Mike Shanahan laced into his brain-dead defenders on the sideline and Manning continued to find open receivers everywhere.
"They just assumed he was down," Shanahan said. "You can't assume anything in this game."
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