RENTON — Jermaine Kearse has a hard time selecting just one. The list of memorable catches in his young career has become too extensive.
“That’s a good question. I got some catches that I like,” Kearse said.
There were the two touchdown catches against Carolina, one a regular-season game-winning grab, the other a one-handed catch-and-run in the playoffs. There was the fourth-down touchdown catch in Seattle’s first NFC title game victory over San Francisco that provided the winning points. There was the spinning touchdown catch in the Super Bowl that Seattle won, and the juggling sideline grab that became an afterthought in the Super Bowl the Seahawks lost.
But for sheer importance and drama, it’s hard to come up with a bigger catch that Kearse made than his winning 35-yard touchdown reception in overtime of the NFC championship against Green Bay last January. That sent Seattle to its second straight Super Bowl after the Seahawks rallied from down 12 points in the fourth quarter.
“I just do what I can with my opportunities,” Kearse said.
Kearse and the Seahawks will get reacquainted with the Packers on Sunday night in Green Bay, the third time in just over a year the two NFC powers have faced off.
The last time Kearse was on the field against Green Bay, it was mostly a forgettable afternoon for himself and Seattle’s offense. He was the target of four passes from Russell Wilson during regulation that all ended up in the arms of Green Bay defenders. Four targets, four passes intercepted, including a throw that deflected off Kearse’s hands and into the arms of Morgan Burnett late in the fourth quarter.
It was a miserable day until the final throw, when Kearse beat Tramon Williams on the winning pass for his only reception of the game.
“It was a good way to end a game, especially what was going on throughout the game,” Kearse said. “Me and Russ just couldn’t connect whether it was on either or both of us.”
Once on the fringe of having an NFL career, Kearse has become an established starter in Seattle’s offense. In the Seahawks’ opening loss at St. Louis, Kearse was Wilson’s favorite target with a career-high eight receptions and 10 targets.
Gone appear to be the days when Kearse only flashed by making catches in important moments.
“He’s been really consistent for years now. He has been a guy that has made big plays for us, he plays on special teams, he adds on every chance he gets in every aspect of our game,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “The fact that he comes out, starts it off with a good ball game, there’s no surprises there. He’s been a real core guy for us.”
Had the conclusion of the Super Bowl gone the other way, Kearse likely would have entered the season after one of the most memorable catches in Super Bowl history. His juggling 33-yard reception set up Seattle with first-and-goal with 1:06 remaining and was immediately compared with catches by David Tyree and Mario Manningham, both against the Patriots.
Of course, Kearse’s grab became a footnote after Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception.
“There’s no question that Russell trusts Jermaine,” Carroll said. “Those guys have grown up together in the NFL making plays together.”
