In his first career playoff game on January 8, 2011 against the New Orleans Saints, Lynch had a 67-yard touchdown run in which he broke eight tackles and with one arm threw Saints cornerback Tracy Porter to the ground. The home field crowd's reaction to the run was so strong that it was recorded as seismic activity at a monitoring station 100 yards from the stadium. The fourth-quarter run proved to be the game winner, as three minutes later the game ended with the Seahawks defeating the Saints, 41–36, capping one of the biggest upsets in NFL playoff history.