You can’t count on two hands how many times the Seattle Seahawks were staggered and nearly beaten—a prized fighter pushed to the very limit of survival, one knockout blow away from a 10-count—during Sunday’s NFC Championship Game win over the Green Bay Packers.

Left standing, the defending champions staged a comeback for the ages—eventually leaving the Packers flat on their back and in stunned amazement that a trip to Glendale, Arizona wasn’t next on the schedule.

Missed opportunities. If there’s any one reason why the Packers’ season ended Sunday in Seattle and not two Sundays from now in Arizona, it’s the cascade of blown chances to finish off the Seahawks in their own building.

"There's no reason we shouldn't have won the game," guard Josh Sitton said. "Literally one of 10 plays you can pick that if we get it, we win the game.”

Sitton, arguably the most dejected player in the Packers locker room Monday, was exactly right. He was just wrong on the number.

No game is won or lost on a single play. The Packers and Seahawks staged 135 plays from scrimmage Sunday. But rewind a game that was at one point 16-0 and at another 19-7, and just one play was often the difference between putting the final nail in the Seahawks and keeping the defending champions alive.

Just how many swings and misses did the Packers have Sunday? Not 10. Not 12. Try 21.

Here are all the missed opportunities, all the botched chances, all the bungled plays that created the framework for a collapse and eventually cost the Packers a trip to Super Bowl XLIX:

1. Rodgers’ first interception cost Green Bay a chance at three points. It was almost as if Richard Sherman baited Rodgers into the bad decision. And it was a bad decision. With simply an incompletion, kicker Mason Crosby would have been looking at about a 45-yard field goal. He eventually finished 5-for-5 in the game, with two makes over 40. Good chance he knocks it through.

2. The Packers had first-and-goal from the 7-yard line, but settled for three points. Both John Kuhn and Eddie Lacy received cracks at scoring from the 1-yard line and failed. Uninterested in seeing a third failed attempt, Mike McCarthy played it safe and took the for sure three points. Conservative, but understandable.

Difference between 14-0 and 6-0. "Life's this game of inches, so is football." pic.twitter.com/Gj08a3huBu — Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) January 20, 2015

3. The Packers had first-and-goal from the 7-yard line, again. The Packers settled for three points, again. On second-and-goal, Rodgers had Jordy Nelson wide open in the end zone on an out-breaking route but missed him by a hand’s length. A third-down combo route to Randall Cobb was rushed and came up about a yard-and-a-half short. McCarthy decided to kick the field goal, later citing the need for certain points in a game he figured wouldn’t have many. But given the chance to score seven after what amounted to a free possession, kicking was a questionable choice. Punch it in and it’s suddenly 10-0. Get stopped and it’s like the Seahawks returned the original kickoff to the 1-yard line.

4. Up 13-0, the Packers force a punt—which Micah Hyde promptly returned to the Seattle 33-yard line. A touchdown would have put Green Bay up 20-0 roughly 20 minutes into the contest. The opportunity was there, but Rodgers missed a wide open Cobb on third down from the 36. With a good throw, Cobb probably sprints into the end zone untouched for six points.

5. An illegal hands to the face penalty gave the Packers new life at the Seattle 31. The next three plays: Lacy for 4 yards, Cobb for 3 yards and Lacy for 2 yards. Fourth-and-1, again. A field goal, again. 16-0 on scoreboard, a handful of inches away from 28-0.

6. Clay Matthews’ 15-yard penalty on Ha Ha Clinton Dix’s second interception set the Packers up at the Green Bay 44 instead of the Seattle 41. Nelson picked up all 15 of those yards plus eight more on second down, putting the Packers in business at the Seattle 33. Points on the drive and Green Bay is up 19-0 or 23-0. Instead, Rodgers threw a pick on first down when Cobb sat down on a short hitch while Rodgers expected him to break outside. Unforced error. A huge unforced error.

7. Sam Shields’ interception gave the Packers a fourth takeaway of the first half. Green Bay’s ensuing drive started down the field but was then short-circuited by Cobb’s first down false start. The Packers got off schedule and eventually punted. Not a glaring miss, but a miss nonetheless. Points before the half would have been helpful, especially off a turnover. The Packers wound up scoring just nine points off five takeaways.

8. Another defensive stop to start the second was followed by Hyde’s return to the Green Bay 39. Good field position. After two runs, Rodgers’ connected with Cobb on a slant—but the ball was badly placed, low. Cobb had beat Jeremy Lane clean to the inside, and with an accurate throw he easily gets past the sticks. Needing about a yard-and-a-half near midfield, McCarthy trusted his dominate defense and punted the football.

9. Second-and-31, third-and-19. The officials wrongly assessed a personal foul, which should have been a dead-ball penalty and an automatic 15 yards. Still, defending 31 yards over two plays is child’s play in the NFL, and the Packers made it look solving a Rubik’s cube. Somehow, Russell Wilson found a wide open receiver despite facing a two-man rush, one-man spy and eight-man coverage. No excuse for the mistake. An offense should punt 100 percent of the time when needing 31 yards on second down and 19 on third.

10. Fake field goal for a touchdown. Credit the Seahawks for scouting Green Bay’s field goal coverage, and also credit Shawn Slocum for not self-scouting his own unit. What a disaster. Per Robert Klemko of MMQB, the Seahawks identified on tape Brad Jones crashing down against every kick. So when he came on the field with 4:46 left in the third quarter, Seattle pounced. Jones crashed down again, allowing Jon Ryan to spin to his left and throw to an eligible offensive tackle in the end zone. Who knows why A.J. Hawk left his coverage. He apparently didn’t trust Davon House to run down a punter. Instead of a 16-3 score, it’s 16-7. Game on.

11. Two plays into the next drive, Rodgers attempted to throw a screen to Lacy. He twisted his right ankle backing up and his attempt was off the mark. Had the screen been completed, Lacy might have had a huge play. The Seahawks blitzed and the Packers had blockers out front, with a clear lane in front of Lacy. A play later, Rodgers is sacked. Drive over. Punt.

12. Two tough runs from Lacy, a 32-yard scamper from James Starks and Richard Rodgers’ third-down conversion set the Packers up with first down at the Seattle 33. On second down, Rodgers scrambled to his right and threw to Starks, who nearly made a tough catch inside the 5-yard line. The Packers had to settle for Crosby’s 48-yard field goal. Three big points, but also inches away from another potential touchdown.

13. Clinton-Dix had a golden opportunity for a third pick. Wilson essentially threw it right to the rookie, who made a perfect jump on the underneath route. It went through his hands. Had Clinton-Dix made the interception, he might have run the football back for a touchdown. It would have been close. The Seahawks eventually punted, but missed turnovers are always big misses.

14. Two runs set up third-and-4 with roughly five-and-a-half minutes left. The Packers went back to a familiar play: tight end Andrew Quarless split out wide against a linebacker, with Rodgers throwing the back shoulder. K.J. Wright made the play, getting an arm in at the last second to break up the attempt. A completion there and the Packers move the chains, providing an opportunity to either melt a good chunk of the clock or force the Seahawks to burn three timeouts. Instead, the Packers punted, and the Seahawks took over with 5:13 left.

15. The first play of the next drive was intercepted by Morgan Burnett, who almost immediately slid down at the Green Bay 43. He certainly could have gained an easy 10-15 yards on the return, with the possibility of taking the pick back for a game-clinching touchdown. The Packers took over with 5:04 left.

16. Three straight runs with Lacy forced Seattle to use two timeouts but netted minus-3 yards. A run on first down was expected, but once at second-and-14, why isn’t the call to throw twice and attempt to get the first down? The decision at that point was to burn clock/timeouts or aggressively go for just one first down, which would have nearly put the game out of reach. If there’s a fourth quarter playcall to question, it’s the second down give-up run.

17. 2nd-and-10, 2:52 to play. As a defense, the only play you absolutely can’t give up is a deep shot. What do the Packers allow? A deep shot. It was somewhat unexpectedly to Marshawn Lynch, but still inexcusable. Seattle nearly burned Green Bay with the same play earlier in the game. The Packers needed to make the Seahawks work up the field and burn more clock. Instead, Seattle scored in just 1:43.

18. Onside kick. Instead of blocking away a defender for Jordy Nelson, Brandon Bostick—a former college basketball forward—went for the rebound and missed badly. Right threw his hands, off his facemask and into the arms of C.J. Matthews. It was an easy, routine play for Bostick, but if he just blocked Matthews like he was assigned to, it was an even easier, more routine play for the sure-handed Nelson, who was waiting all alone for the football. Seattle takes over. Recover the onside kick and the game is all but over.

19. The botched onside kick set up Seattle’s go-ahead score, but it did not allow it. The Packers defense was methodically gashed by the Seahawks. Make a stop and the game is over. Go back and watch A.J. Hawk on Lynch’s touchdown. It’s as poor an effort against the run as you’ll see.

20. Two point conversion. Has a professional defensive back ever made a worse attempt on a ball in the air as Clinton-Dix? Unaware, unathletic, unacceptable. Fail Mary Part II? The game should have been 20-19, which would have made the ensuing field goal drive a game-winning drive.

21. A coin flip has never won overtime. Tails failed, and then the Packers defense failed. The Seahawks started their drive at the Seattle 13. Make a stop and all Rodgers and the offense needed was a field goal drive. Instead, Wilson’s walk-off winner after just six plays sent the Packers home with arguably the worst postseason loss in franchise history.

And after 21 missed opportunities to change the final score or seal the game, the Packers throughly deserved it.

Zach Kruse contributes to Cheesehead TV. He is also the Lead Writer for the NFC North at Bleacher Report. You can reach him on Twitter @zachkruse2 or by email at [email protected].