NFC Wildcard: #6 Washington Redskins (9-7) @ #3 Seattle Seahawks (10-6)

WASHINGTON

* Redskins are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
* Redskins are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. NFC.
* Redskins are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0.
* Redskins are 4-1-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a SU win of more than 14 points.
* Redskins are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a road underdog of 3.5-10.0.
* Redskins are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games in January.
* Redskins are 19-7-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
* Redskins are 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 games on field turf.
* Redskins are 1-4-2 ATS in their last 7 games after allowing less than 250 total yards in their previous game.

SEATTLE

* Seahawks are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as a home favorite of 3.5-10.0.
* Seahawks are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 home games.
* Seahawks are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite.
* Seahawks are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
* Seahawks are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games on field turf.
* Seahawks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games after accumulating more than 250 yards passing in their previous game.
* Seahawks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing more than 350 total yards in their previous game.
* Seahawks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite of 3.5-10.0.
* Seahawks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss.
* Seahawks are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite.
* Seahawks are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
* Seahawks are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 vs. NFC.
* Seahawks are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a S.U. loss.
* Seahawks are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games after scoring more than 30 points in their previous game.

OVER/UNDER

* Under is 4-0 in Redskins last 4 playoff games.
* Under is 6-1 in Redskins last 7 games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0.
* Under is 6-1-1 in Redskins last 8 games after allowing less than 150 yards passing in their previous game.
* Over is 5-1 in Redskins last 6 games after accumulating more than 350 total yards in their previous game.
* Under is 5-1 in Redskins last 6 games following a ATS win.
* Under is 5-1 in Redskins last 6 games as a road underdog of 3.5-10.0.
* Under is 7-2 in Redskins last 9 games after allowing less than 250 total yards in their previous game.
* Under is 6-2 in Redskins last 8 games in January.
* Under is 5-2 in Redskins last 7 games after allowing less than 15 points in their previous game.
* Under is 7-3 in Redskins last 10 Saturday games.
* Under is 7-3 in Redskins last 10 vs. a team with a winning record.
* Under is 37-17-2 in Redskins last 56 games after allowing less than 90 yards rushing in their previous game.
* Under is 34-16-2 in Redskins last 52 games as a road underdog.

* Under is 5-0 in Seahawks last 5 Saturday games.
* Under is 8-1 in Seahawks last 9 games after accumulating more than 250 yards passing in their previous game.
* Under is 7-1 in Seahawks last 8 games following a S.U. loss.
* Under is 5-1 in Seahawks last 6 games following a ATS loss.
* Under is 4-1 in Seahawks last 5 playoff games as a favorite.
* Under is 4-1 in Seahawks last 5 playoff home games.
* Over is 6-2 in Seahawks last 8 games after scoring more than 30 points in their previous game.
* Under is 8-3 in Seahawks last 11 home games.
* Under is 5-2 in Seahawks last 7 games after accumulating more than 150 yards rushing in their previous game.
* Over is 5-2 in Seahawks last 7 games after allowing more than 350 total yards in their previous game.
* Over is 5-2 in Seahawks last 7 games after accumulating more than 350 total yards in their previous game.
* Under is 7-3 in Seahawks last 10 games as a home favorite.

HEAD TO HEAD

* Home team is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings.
* Redskins are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Washington Redskins enter the weekend's NFL wild-card playoff round buoyed by the momentum of four straight must-win victories and the emotion of playing for one of their slain stars.

They also have one of the toughest tasks, traveling cross-country on a short week to play a team with plenty of postseason experience. And at a stadium that for the last few seasons has been one of the toughest in the NFL for visitors.

Yet the Redskins go to Seattle on Saturday supremely confident that the emotion from the death of Sean Taylor and the play of quarterback Todd Collins, who went 10 years without a start until this season, will continue to carry them.

Washington was 5-7 and seemingly out of contention when the 36-year-old Collins took over for the injured Jason Campbell against Chicago and carried the Redskins to victory. He made his first start in a decade in a win over the Giants, then directed the team to wins over Minnesota and Dallas to get into the playoffs as the NFC's sixth and final seed.

"Todd opens things up for everybody," says running Clinton Portis, who averaged 102 yards rushing the final three games. "You never know who's getting the ball now. So if you think you're on the route that's not coming to you, you'd better go full speed, because Todd will hit you right upside the head with the ball."

The Seahawks (10-6) have far less momentum.

They clinched the weak AFC West on Dec. 9 and lost two of their final three as they rested regulars and prepared more for the postseason than for the games at hand. They had to go cross-country, too -- to Atlanta -- but they didn't invest much effort there, losing 44-41 in a meaningless game.

One thing they accomplished was rushing the ball better. The five-game winning streak that put them in position to rest was largely the result of Matt Hasselbeck's passing. Those last three games were used to try to improve the running game, which finished 20th overall in yards gained.

"It couldn't get any worse," says running back Shaun Alexander, who was the league MVP for his heroics in 2005, the season of the Seahawks' trip to the Super Bowl. "So we're doing little things and taking steps."

The Redskins were doing big things.

How did they gain momentum?

"The first one I would say is losing Sean and coming together as a team," receiver Antwaan Randle El says. "The second would be Todd. Because when you lose a leader in your quarterback, it's a hard spot to fill -- I don't care who you are."

The top seeded teams are resting this weekend: Unbeaten New England and Indianapolis in the AFC; Dallas and Green Bay in the NFC. The Patriots and Cowboys will play the lowest-seeded winners of this week's games; the Colts and Packers get the higher seeded teams.

In the other wild-card games, Jacksonville is at Pittsburgh on Saturday night; the New York Giants at Tampa Bay in the early game Sunday; and Tennessee at San Diego in the later game.

Jacksonville (11-5) at Pittsburgh (10-6): The Jaguars have been designated as the AFC's "scary" team for a while now. Until they rested starters in the final game, they won six of seven and the one loss was 28-25 in Indianapolis, when they put a scare into the Colts but were hurt by two replay reversals.

The Jaguars won 29-22 in Pittsburgh on Dec. 16, another reason why bettors turned them from 1-point underdogs into 2-point favorites entering this game.

Pittsburgh is without Willie Parker, who was leading the NFL in rushing when he broke his leg in St. Louis two weeks ago. QB Ben Roethlisberger has a sore ankle, star safety Troy Polamalu has been hurting all season, and the Steelers are thin at other positions.

New York Giants (10-6) at Tampa Bay (9-7): Like the Washington-Seattle game, this involves one team with momentum and one without it.

The Giants, who could have rested players, instead played them in an effort to keep New England from finishing unbeaten. They lost 38-35 after leading by 12 points in the third quarter and getting three starters hurt: CB Sam Madison, C Shaun O'Hara and LB Kawika Mitchell.

But they think they gained more than they lost and are encouraged by their 7-1 road record this season. The Giants, along with the Seahawks, Colts and Patriots, are the only four teams to make the playoffs three straight seasons, but they are 0-2, as is QB Eli Manning.

One of those losses was in Philadelphia last season, where the winning QB was Jeff Garcia, whom the Giants now face in Tampa. Garcia also beat New York in a memorable 2003 playoff game in San Francisco, rallying the 49ers from a 38-14 deficit to a 39-38 win.

Tennessee (10-6) at San Diego (11-5): The Chargers lost three more games this season than last. But they are favored to win this playoff game, something they didn't do last season, one of the reasons Marty Schotttenheimer was fired despite a 14-2 regular season.

This is a rematch of a Dec. 9 game in Nashville won 23-17 in overtime by San Diego, which trailed 17-3 in the fourth quarter. There was a lot of chippy stuff in that one, including a personal foul on LaDainian Tomlinson and fines levied by the league against two Titans and one Charger for dirty play.

"We're going to try to stay focused this week and not get caught up in the locker room trash talk and just focus on ourselves," says Tennessee center Kevin Mawae, one of those fined.

One question for the Titans is the health of Vince Young, who left Sunday night's playoff-clinching game in Indianapolis after reinjuring his right quadriceps muscle. Kerry Collins replaced him and led the Titans to three field goals that gave Tennessee a 16-10 win over a team resting almost all its key players.

This would be Young's first playoff start. Collins has far more postseason experience: 3-3 in six starts, including the 2001 Super Bowl when he was with the Giants.</div>

Source: Daily Herald

 

This has officially become the Mohawk v. Porn-Stache Game