Redskins at Seahawks
Time / TV: 1:30 / Ch. 7/39
Caliente line: Seahawks by 3½
What to expect when the Seahawks have the ball: Mike Holmgren no longer has Brett Favre, but he has the quarterback who once was a Favre associate, Matt Hasselbeck, which is not a bad thing. Hasselbeck is having a rewarding season, arguably the best of his nine years in the NFL. A year ago, he had 18 TD passes but 15 INTs. This time, he has 28 TDs and 12 INTs. Hasselbeck, however, fell on his right wrist last week during a 44-41 loss to Atlanta and the Seahawks considered the injury sufficiently severe to have it X-rayed at halftime. He is to start today. Hasselbeck has responded to a changed thrust by Holmgren, who no longer dotes on handoffs to Shaun Alexander, whose season has been limited by injuries. The pass now is Holmgren's preferred instrument. Hasselbeck deals to WRs Deion Branch, Nate Burleson and Bobby Engram. A 12-year veteran, Engram, just 5 feet 10, is a useful sort; he has 94 receptions for 1,147 yards. Expect Hasselbeck to be looking for him in key moments.
What to expect when the Redskins have the ball: The playoffs are no place for a quarterback such as Todd Collins. Why, he's 36, he has been hanging around the NFL for 13 seasons and he never has created a stir. What is he doing in a tournament that includes Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Favre? Winning, that's what, the Redskins would tell you. They haven't lost since Jason Campbell was eliminated by an injury and Collins got the football. His arm may not be much, but he is an orchestrator who knows the game and can make the necessary throws. His charge in this game is to play without error. Collins can do that; the Redskins have not suffered an INT since Week 14. Playoff games generally are waged more conservatively than those in the regular season. With Collins doing his error-free thing, Washington has a strong postseason equation: an adequate offense based on the rushing of Clinton Portis and LaDell Betts, and a defense that can check the run. Joe Gibbs gets too little credit. The man has won three Super Bowls, as many as Bill Belichick. Gibbs' game plans can be canny things. He'll have his side in this one.
Key stat: Of the 2006 season's four NFC division champions, only Seattle has a playoff presence. The other three titlists from a year ago, Philadelphia, Chicago and New Orleans, failed to qualify.
Jaguars at Steelers
Time / TV: 5 p.m. / Ch. 7/39
Caliente line: Jaguars by 3
What to expect when the Jaguars have the ball: Physicality. Subtleties are not for this team. It comes to drive at rivals, to beat them down at the line of scrimmage, and it is very good at it. In their five games before an anticlimactic 42-28 loss to Houston in Week 17, the Jaguars had averaged 422.4 yards, largely on the rushes of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. Just 5-7, Jones-Drew also is an effective receiver, and David Garrard never throws interceptions. Well, almost never. Garrard has thrown 325 passes with only three INTs, a percentage of interceptions of an infinitesimal 0.9. Garrard further is No. 5 in the NFL as a fourth-quarter passer. As a third-down passer, he is No. 1. Consider that Jack Del Rio's squad does not include people on the outside who can be considered stellar and Garrard's figures become even more impressive. Garrard had some problems on Dec. 16 when his side won in Pittsburgh 29-22, going 17-33-1 for 197 yards, but Taylor hit for 147 yards in that game and Jones-Drew for 69. It was how the Jaguars play. With muscle.
What to expect when the Steelers have the ball: History is Pittsburgh's ally. No team has beaten the Steelers in Pittsburgh, then gained the playoffs and won again. Only one team, it should be noted, had a chance – Houston in 1978. The Oilers won 24-17, then lost 34-5 in the AFC Championship Game. Del Rio is dismissive of this point. “When you compete in athletics, there are a lot of things that come up like that and are talked about but have no bearing on the game,” said the Jacksonville coach. The Steelers' hopes of extending history would seem based almost wholly on Ben Roethlisberger having a banner game. It's possible; he threw five touchdown passes in early November against Baltimore. There's also this: Roethlisberger has proved he can get around pretty well on that bog that passes for a playing surface in Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvanians, however, clearly miss Willie Parker, who was competing with LaDainian Tomlinson for a rushing championship before Parker was felled by an injury. Parker's successor is Najeh Davenport, who can wear down a defense if he gets enough carries. In Santonio Holmes, Roethlisberger has a receiver who can get deep. Hines Ward is deft in the short zones.
Key stat: Roethlisberger has been sacked a career-high 47 times.
– JERRY MAGEE
