The 2012 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 37th in the National Football League (NFL) and their third under head coach Pete Carroll.

The Seahawks had a three-way quarterback competition with Tarvaris Jackson, Matt Flynn and rookie Russell Wilson.

Additionally, with their victory over the Washington Redskins at FedExField in the wild-card round, the Seahawks won their first road playoff game since 1983.

However, despite holding a lead with just 30 seconds left in regulation, the Seahawks lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional round by a score of 30–28.

Running backs (RB) Wide receivers (WR) Tight ends (TE) Defensive linemen (DL) Defensive backs (DB) Special teams Reserve Divisional matchups: the NFC West played the NFC North and the AFC East.

The game had a controversial ending when Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw a Hail Mary pass to the endzone on the final play that appeared to have been intercepted by Green Bay.

Many also claimed the officials had missed an offensive pass interference call committed by Tate on Packers cornerback Sam Shields that also would have won the game for Green Bay.

The NFL released an official statement the next day that, while acknowledging that pass interference should have been called on Tate, supported the decision to uphold the play as simultaneous possession.

With the 49ers' loss to the Vikings the previous day, Seattle and San Francisco were now tied for 2nd in the NFC West behind the 3-0 Arizona Cardinals.

With the win, the Seahawks improved to 4–2, and with losses by the 49ers and Cardinals, the team moved into a tie for first in the NFC West.

With the Seahawks up 21–14, rookie Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill found Charles Clay from 29 yards out.

Tied 21–21, the Seahawks had to punt with 1:39 to go, and Tannehill drove the Dolphins in range for the winning Dan Carpenter field goal.

The game was interrupted briefly with 1:40 to go in the third quarter following a 19-yard Tannehill run; the sprinklers at Sun Life Stadium suddenly switched on, soaking the field for roughly one minute.

In order to win the NFC West, the Seahawks needed to beat the St. Louis Rams at home the following week, have the 49ers lose to the Arizona Cardinals.

However, a loss or a 49ers win would result in the Seahawks being the #5 seed heading on the road for the wild-card round in January.

After Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III went down with a knee injury in the second half, Seattle outscored Washington 3-0 to win 24-14.