SEATTLE — On another receiving corps, the Seattle Seahawks’ Jermaine Kearse might not have gotten a chance to make the biggest play of the NFC Championship Game. He was struggling mightily in the Seahawks’ biggest game of the season, but injury-depleted Seattle had nowhere else to turn.

So when the ball came back Kearse’s way in overtime, he was ready. A native of Lakewood, a few miles south of Seattle, Kearse caught a 35-yard touchdown pass in overtime to beat the Green Bay Packers 28-22 Sunday.

“Even though I had a rough start, a rough game early on, (quarterback Russell Wilson) stuck with me and gave me another opportunity to win the game for my team,” Kearse said.

The second-year receiver from the University of Washington had four balls thrown his way during the opening three quarters of the game. All four resulted in interceptions.

But when it mattered most, Kearse was able to make the play.

“It was a very interesting game for me,” he said. “I was like, ‘What is going on?’ But I never really felt sorry for myself. You’ve just got to stay mentally tough. It’s a tough game.”

Said coach Pete Carroll: “What a great story: the local kid wins the game with a touchdown catch. … It was a long, hard day for him.”

Nostradamus-like Wilson said he told offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell after the coin toss he would throw the game-winning touchdown to Kearse

–It took 39 pass attempts for Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers to test Richard Sherman, and the Seattle Seahawks’ All-Pro cornerback made it worth his wait.

After completely avoiding Sherman on 33 passes in the regular-season opener, Rodgers threw his sixth pass of Sunday’s NFC Championship Game in the talkative defender’s direction. Sherman responded by intercepting the ball in the back of the end zone.

“It was a fun opportunity to change the game for my team,” Sherman said. “And I was excited to do that.”

Sherman intercepted four passes during a regular season that saw significantly fewer passes thrown his way than he saw in 2013. Rodgers most famously avoided him in the season opener, using a game plan that lined up go-to receiver Jordy Nelson on the opposite side of the field all game.

Green Bay spread it out a bit more Sunday, and Sherman made Rodgers pay on the opening drive. A third-down throw toward rookie Davante Adams was picked off by Sherman in the end zone.

–The Packers dominated the first quarter but may well have been somewhat disappointed by their 13-0 lead.

Green Bay drove into Seattle territory four times in the first quarter but had just one touchdown to show for it. The opening possession resulted in an interception in the end zone, then the Packers got to the Seattle 1-yard line on back-to-back possessions but had to settle for field goals.

Rodgers finally got Green Bay into the end zone on the final play of the first quarter, hitting receiver Randall Cobb for a 13-yard touchdown.

–While the Seahawks celebrated their second consecutive NFC Championship Game victory, a man dressed in a black hoodie with gold emblem and matching gold shoes quietly exited out a back door and left the stadium.

Running back Marshawn Lynch isn’t much for goodbyes.

In what may have been his final home game as a Seahawk, the veteran running back snuck out on the postgame celebration and media session. He walked with his head down and didn’t look up for anyone.

About an hour earlier, Lynch made one of the biggest plays of the game with the go-ahead touchdown on a 24-yard run late in the fourth quarter. He celebrated by grabbing his crotch, a move that cost him an NFL fine a few weeks earlier.

Neither that fine nor the one for skipping the media session seemed to affect Lynch.

–Even the most diehard Seahawks fans might have had trouble naming Garry Gilliam and Chris Matthews heading into the NFC Championship Game, yet both made huge plays in Seattle’s win.

Gilliam, a backup offensive lineman who played tight end in college, caught a 19-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal. It marked Seattle’s first points of the game after falling into a 16-0 halftime hole.

With two minutes left, Matthews corralled an onside kick to set up Lynch’s go-ahead score.