MIAMI -- The Seattle Seahawks have learned over the last 18 weeks that if no one else believes in them then they must believe in themselves.
So the Seahawks never stoppd believing Saturday -- not even when they fell behind the Miami Dolphins with less than four minutes remaining.
Seattle rebounded to score 10 points on a Curt Warner run and a Norm Johnson field goal in the final 1:48 of the game to score a 27-20 victory over Miami and move into the AFC championship game.
'We believed, we kept saying, 'Let's get that TD back, let's score,'' said rookie back Warner, who led the way with 113 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
'We worked hard to come this far and we're not going to quit just because they score the go-ahead touchdown. We said 'We're still in striking distance. Let's do it.''
Warner, named the AFC's Player of the Year, was unaware that he was playing in front of Joe Paterno, his former college coach at Penn State.
Seattle fell behind on Miami fullback Woody Bennett's 2-yard run just three plays after Seattle quarterback Dave Krieg was intercepted by Gerald Small in Seattle territory. Krieg and Steve Largent, the intended receiver on Small's interception, shook it off and hooked up on passes of 16 and 40 yards to set up Warner's 2-yard game-winning touchdown. It was the only two receptions of the day for Largent, Seattle's leading receiver with 72 catches during the regular season.
'This is the most attention I ever got after catching only two passes. The Dolphins play tough pass defense, but the running game helped open things up,' said Largent, who has spent eight years in Seattle without ever playing for a playoff team. 'I think I appreciate this more than some of the guys who haven't been here this long.'
Krieg has spent just four years with the Seahawks out of Milton (Wis.) College and saw little playing time until he replaced Jim Zorn as starter midway through the season in the ninth game of the season. Krieg completed 15-of-28 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown Saturday but was almost the goat after his interception.
'My first thought was, 'We have to get the ball back,'' Krieg said. 'It was kind of a critical time to throw an interception. But when we needed Steve (Largent) at the end today for the big play, he was there.'
Krieg's interception was Seattle's only turnover of the game while Miami lost three fumbles and two interceptions.
'Early in the year we self-destructed a lot with turnovers and mistakes. We haven't been doing that lately,' said Chuck Knox, who has led the Seahawks to the playoffs for the first time in their eight-year history in his first year as Seahawks' head coach.
The Seahawks, who have won four in a row, now face the winner of Sunday's Los Angeles Raiders-Pittsburgh Steelers game. Seattle beat the Raiders twice during the season and lost to Pittsburgh, but the Seahawks players have no preference on who they face for the conference title and a berth in the Jan. 22 Super Bowl at Tampa, Fla.
'Whoever we play, we'll be underdogs again,' said offensive guard Robert Pratt. 'No one's going to expect us to win and hopefully we can have another scene like this.'
