NFC Wild Card Washington/Seattle Analysis

In an interesting NFL Playoff Picks matchup of NFC teams today the Washington Redskins travel to the great Northwest to take on the Seattle Seahawks. Just a few short weeks ago the Redskins were nowhere in the discussions of post season play as they sat at just 5-7 and were in the midst of dealing with the tragic death of safety Sean Taylor. Whether it was divine intervention or not Washington proceeded to reel off 4 wins in a row to finish the season at 9-7 and make the playoffs. The Redskins defense really stepped up to the plate as over the final quarter of the season they the led the league in rushing defense allowing only 71.8 yards per game. In this game they come in playing a Seattle team that long ago gave up the running game so Washington will have to stop the pass. That might not be an issue either as other opponents has tried passing against them since they couldn’t run the ball but ended up completing only 50 percent for an NFC worst 5.1 yards per attempt over the last four games.

The Seattle Seahawks come into this one with another divisional title under their belt while finishing the season at 10-6 overall. However, they had problems down the stretch losing two of their last three games including their worst defensive game in more than four years last week getting pounded 44-41 to the pathetic Falcons. Although the Seattle defense struggled in the short term down the stretch overall they could still make life miserable for Redskin QB Collins as they produced 45 sacks this season. Most of Seattle’s success sat on the shoulders of QB Matt Hasselbeck as RB Shaun Alexander struggled through his worst season since he was a rookie in 2000 running for 716 yards with just four touchdowns. Because of that Hasselbeck set franchise records for completions (352), attempts (562) and passing yards (3,966). In four career playoff games at home Hasselbeck has completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 1,015 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. Seattle has won three straight playoff games at Qwest Field.

Washington backers might be a bit leery of this one as the last time they were in the playoff they were beaten ironically here at Qwest Field. In addition Seattle was 7-1 SU & 6-1 ATS at home in this year outscoring opponents by 13.2 points per game. Over the L3 years, they are 18-7 ATS as hosts. But before jumping on the Seahawks consider that they are only 13-27 a home favorite of 3.5-7 points while Washington is 27-11 ATS as a road underdog. For total players the Under is 19-4 in Redskins games when they are listed as an underdog of 3.5-9.5.

Will the Redskins continue their unbelievable run in this game or come up short?

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