NFC Wild Card Playoff: Seahawks 35, Redskins 14

Playoff season is underway. Announcers for the first game are Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth, so we should be OK thereAwful opening possession for Washington after Rock Cartwright nearly breaks the kickoff return against Seattle's below-average special teams coverage. Portis stuffed twice and Collins' first throw is a mile over the receiver's head. Punt time.

Seattle unsurprisingly comes out passing. Nate Burleson breaks a tackle for 11. Seattle immediately goes to hurry-up. Pocket is collapsing, but Hasselbeck threads a perfect pass to Bobby Engram for 19. Now Seattle has outsmarted themselves and have to call a TO. Alexander pops a draw for 6+, good block by the fullback. 2nd down, Matt nearly gets sacked but wheels out and throws the ball away. 3rd-4. Obamanu is WIDE OPEN on a sideline corner route, how can Matt miss that pass????? No pressure on him! Plackemeier beautifully kills the punt inside the 5, DONNIE JONES.

What does it say about your city's baseball history when the greatest pitcher in the history of your team is Jamie Moyer? Seattle shouldn't be so hard up for sports heroes to rally their crowd, should it?

Portis sweeps left for maybe a yard. After a quick slant to Santana Moss gets 6, Collins gets all day to throw and finds Randle-El for 10. Huge first down. Reverse to Randle El gains only two. Swing pass to Moss for 7, but Seattle stuffs Portis AGAIN for a loss on 3rd down. Seattle has completely shut the run down early. Justin Babineaux manages to get the Redskin gunner to step out of bounds AND touch the ball first for a five-yard penalty, forcing a much shorter rekick that Burleson brings across the 50. That's positive special teams play.

Seattle from the Wash. 45. 8 yard pass to DJ Freaking Hackett. Quick hitch to Burleson gets squat. Seattle's all about quick passing, quick tempo right now. Skins had Maurice Morris for a loss on 3rd-and-1 but he broke a tackle for 6. 1-10 from the W30. Dumpoff to fullback for no gain. Stretch handoff for Alexander gets a big gain, but the ball comes free. Replay should overrule the fumble call, which Alexander was arguing while Fred Smoot was returning it. Should be Seattle's ball inside the 20, though I'm reminded of his long run in St. Louis a few years ago that Aeneas Williams punched out from behind. Seattle wins the challenge; their ball at the W17.

Draw to Weaver out of a 4-WR set for a TD and a 7-0 Seattle lead. Washington is likely going to have to employ similar tactics to get their running game in gear.

Walt Coleman is the referee for this game, a deserved distinction in my opinion. He called the Seattle game here in St. Louis and it was easily the best-officiated Rams game this year.

Seahawks are getting great special teams play, they're stuffing the run and they really have Washington's defense off balance right now. Some games this year, the Rams achieved one of those three.

Another good kick return by Cartwright, and nice play-action to Randle-El for 21 gets Washington across midfield. Collins barely avoids a sack on a deep drop, unloading a dying quail while Kerney hits him. 2nd-10, timeout now for Washington. Draw to Portis loses 4. Washington can't do a thing with Julian Peterson so far. 3rd-14, they get Peterson blocked but Moss drops the pass. Burleson returns another bad punt to the Hawk 29.

Funny that Al Saunders' most successful calls so far were the play-action pass to Randle-El off a fake reverse and a quick hitch. Same calls never work for Linehan, especially the hitch. I would like to see Linehan pass off that fake reverse a lot more next year; I think the Rams almost always run out of that gimmick.

Matt hits Hackett for 13 to get Seattle moving, and has him open against cover-2 down the sideline but just misses him. 2nd-10 from the 43. Marcus Washington eats up a draw to Morris to make it 3rd-13. Seattle settles for a 6-yard dump to Weaver and will play field position. Plackemeier FOUND THE COFFIN CORNER, DONNIE JONES, and pinned Washington at the 2 while also drawing a penalty for running into the kicker. Seattle might as well take the play, which they do.

Redskins take over at their 2. Offsides on Tapp moves it to the 7. Cooley drops what would have been a first down. Portis finds some room running right and gains 5 as the quarter ends.

Seattle leads 7-0 after a quarter they have almost completely dominated.

To open the 2nd, Kerney hits Collins as he's throwing, and what I swear is a pass is called a fumble. OK, there's the red flag from Joe Gibbs. Coleman, meanwhile, has announced the play was called an incomplete pass, which they've done a very poor job of communicating. And now Seattle can't challenge? Because replay shows that was probably a fumble forced by Kerney. Peterson drops Portis for another big loss, and Washington really needs to quit running plays to Stephan Heyer's side at RT. Heyer is completely outgunned. Seattle calls a completely unnecessary blitz on 3rd-and-long and Collins hits Randle-El for a 1st down at the 25. Tapp nearly gets Collins on 1st down but Todd hits Randle-El for 7. Portis right up the middle for 7. Quick hitch to Cooley to the right side for a loss. Middle or left, Al. Play-action has Moss screamingly wide open, but Seattle hit Collins and made the throw come up short. Delay of game loses 5 more. Collins couldn't get the center to snap it to him in Seattle's formidable crowd noise. Screen RIGHT to Portis on 3rd-and-a-mile gets nowhere, and Burleson returns the punt nearly out to the Seattle 40.

Burleson's wide open down the sideline for 24 after putting a nasty double move on Shawn Springs, who thought he was jumping a short route. Seattle's across midfield again. Alexander gains maybe 2. About 6 to Hackett on a cross leaves 3rd-2. Matt leads Morris too much on a swing pass for an incompletion. Perfect kick by Josh Brown from 50, JEFF WILKINS, makes it 10-0.

Honestly, Seattle should be up by well more than they are. When they've "needed" a clutch throw from Hasselbeck, they haven't gotten it.

Cartwright again returns across the 30. 14-yard gain for Portis, inside right tackle. Fullback picked off the LB. They run right again without a fullback and Tatupu stops Portis for 2. Lesson learned, Al? Skins line up 4-wide and Peterson comes right up the middle to kill Collins. Center let him go, and Portis was consumed with helping the RT Heyer, who's been getting dominated all day. 3rd-down, Kelly Jennings saves a first down by knocking away a sideline pass. Good punt is only returned to the Seattle 19. Skins really need a quick stop here to get field position working for them.

6:46 left in a quick-moving first half. Blitz is picked up, but Hackett draws an OPI to move Seattle backward. Hasselbeck banged his hand off Alexander's helmet. That hand's already injured, which may explain his accuracy issues. Alexander sweeps left for 5. Skins have my permission to blitz hard and often. They do on 2nd - Seattle has the screen set up, but Weaver drops it. 3rd-15. With all day, Hasselbeck is sacked by the LDE on what you'd have to call a coverage sack. Seattle luckily recovers. Still a big stop for Washington, who only used a 4-man rush there. POOR punt by Plackemeier fair-caught by Randle-El at the Seattle 43. Wind is apparently a big factor today.

Portis drops a play-action pass on 1st down. Funny that in Seattle, it's the other team killing itself with dropped passes. Deep ball for Moss in double coverage is nearly picked off by Trufant. 3rd down, Leroy Hill goes right through Ladell Betts and nearly undresses Collins for the sack. Golden field position, and Washington loses yards on the drive. They're 6-for-6. 6 drives, 6 punts.

Seattle from their 16. Alexander up the middle for 4, then is stuffed for no gain on 2nd down. Big play, 3rd-and-6. Skins do not blitz, but Hasselbeck misses the TE for a first down. DT beat the LG to pressure Matt into a poor throw.

Did Collinsworth just say something about "a guy coming right in your face"?

3:00 left in the half. Skins from their 34. Shotgun draw to Portis for 6. Skins in no-huddle. Collins loops one to Moss on the sideline for 8. Quick slant to Randle El across midfield for close to 10.

Two-minute warning. Skins try to run for the one, but Portis can't get it (running RIGHT), followed by Grant batting it away from Cooley. Washington going for it on 4th-and-1, and I don't think Sellers even came close. He didn't. Seattle takes over at midfield with about a minute-and-a-half left. And they get the ball after halftime... I don't see why Gibbs decided to go for it there. The spot's reviewed upstairs but not overruled.

RUNNING from their 43, Seattle gets 7 on a Morris sweep right, followed by an Engram drop. 3rd-and-3. 0:58 to go. Washington blitzes one. Hasselbeck's bailing all the way, and Burleson can't scoop the low pass. It's impressive how STUPID Matt Hasselbeck will look if you put ANY pressure on him at all. Randle-El fair catches the punt at the Washington 9, so the half is probably over.

Yep, both teams content to run out the clock. 10-0 Seattle at halftime. Scratch that. Seattle starts using TOs on defense because Washington's just running the ball. It's 4th-and-2 with 2 seconds left, but the Skins just run again on 4th down to make Seattle's maneuvering the pointless idea it was in the beginning. 10-0 Seattle at halftime.

Offensively, the Redskins had better quit relying so much on plays to the right side, when they're getting dominated over there. Run left more, (at all!) play-action more to try to freeze the Seattle LBs. Their defense is also going to have to really come after Matt with some blitzes, and I think he'd be susceptible to it. Can't say the Seahawks need to change much of anything. I'd like to see them open up the second half in the no-huddle again and try to hang up a quick score. The tempo of their offense lagged as the half wore on, but they can put this thing away quickly after halftime if they try.

What's with the dorky-looking guy on the Budweiser commercials? Is that one raised eyebrow a pathological condition? Are we the viewers supposed to take someone seriously when they look like a complete doofus?

My God, is there anything left from the 70s and 80s that NBC isn't bringing back to TV? Knight Rider? Bionic Woman? American Freaking Gladiators? Thank you, writers' strike, I know I couldn't get enough of idiot roid-raging freaks beating up accountants the first time it was on. (What do you suppose "Ice" looks like these days?) Yeah, I'll bet she aged about as well as chicken salad at room temperature.

Three words, NBC: Dukes. of. Hazzard.

Burleson returns the kickoff to the 25 to start the 2nd half. Alexander gets squat up the middle. 13 to Engram for the 1st down. Center moved the ball two feet and no false start. Short gain left for Alexander, 2nd-and-7. Alexander in motion for the swing pass, but Reed Doughty shuts it down from Sean Taylor's safety position. 3rd-7. I'd blitz here. Washington does, but it doesn't get through, but Seattle can't complete the short sideline route. Bobby Engram broke up a probable pick-six; that may loom as one of this game's "hidden plays". Not a very deep punt; Washington will take over at their 17.

Portis sweeps left for a couple. Are they taking my advice? Quick pass to Randle-El for 11. Portis gains 1 up the middle. Cut it away from left, where he was supposed to go. Collins rolls right and finds nobody, sliding for 2. 3rd-6. Seahawks blitz big and Collins has to throw it away. Punter Frost has to stop Burleson from making a long return. Seattle takes over at their 32.

Quick hitter to Burleson for 7. About 8 more to Engram off a rollout. Alexander gets stuffed up the middle. Neither team has run well today. Pretty throw by Hasselbeck next, 35 to Hackett down the sideline. Pass came off a three-step drop. Seattle's inside the 20. Empty backfield, Matt can't find anybody, dumps it off to Alexander for a loss. Alexander spins out of a tackle for about 4. 3rd-7. Nobody open for Matt again, he takes off and scrambles, and Fred Smoot delivers the best hit of his career, sending Matt spinning to the ground. Brown hits a 33-yard FG to put Seattle up 13-0 despite a high snap.

Cartwright's kickoff return is out to midfield but there's a flag. Low block penalty will start them at their 15 instead. Short gain right for Portis. Beautiful one-handed catch by Cooley at the sideline for 20. Nice throw by Collins, too. Collins hits Portis on a cross for about 5. Sideline pass to Randle El for 6 and a first. Redskins at midfield. No gain left for Portis as the LBs and safeties continue to pour through. Tough catch by Cooley over the middle for 15. He was almost absent in the 1st half; smart effort by the Skins to get him the ball. 7 to Randle El. 2nd down pass appears thrown away. NBC says it's 3rd-and-1 but there's at least 2.5 yards to the marker. Portis gets little running right. Gibbs goes for it on 4th-and-1. Play-action pass; I love the call. The safety slips and grabs Sellers on the way down to draw a pretty obvious DPI. 1st down Washington at the Seattle 11. Play action again; dumpoff to Sellers gets about 3. From the 7, Collins is nearly picked off in the end zone by Grant.
That's the last play of the third quarter with Seattle up 13-0.

Love Washington's adjustments; using more play-action and finally getting the TEs involved, but they're running out of time.

Eh, maybe not. Skins open the 4th quarter in style with a TD pass from Collins to Randle-El. Collins had a long time to throw and bought extra. Seattle has gotten too passive defensively here in the 2nd half. I'd say the Redskins staff won the halftime chess match.

SHORT kickoff but Burleson is cut down at the 25. Burleson loses, then catches, a short pass for 4. Seattle picks up the 2nd-down blitz beautifully, but Deron Landry jumps Engram's route for an interception. He's down by contact so his runback doesn't count, but what a HUGE play!

Redskins from their 42; Portis right up the middle for 9. Quick slant to Moss for 3, and boy, has the momentum of this game shifted. I say a lot of it's because Seattle's lost its aggression on both sides of the ball. Collins up top for Moss, AND IT'S A TD! beating double-coverage for 30 yards.

About a minute ago, I thought the Redskins were running out of time! And now they're up 14-13. Seattle had better start getting after it.

OH MY FREAKING GOD! Burleson and the up back muff the bouncing kick and the Redskins recover it at the 14! Cooley just fails to come up with the ball at the 3. That's another drop. I also don't understand why Washington wasn't allowed to run the kickoff into the end zone. Portis left for about three. Seattle didn't touch it; it wasn't a muffed kick. I know I've seen onside kicks run back for TDs before; what was different there? Anyway, 3rd-and-8, Redskins from the 11. Sellers is confused, forcing a timeout. Kerney saves Seattle's necks for now by hitting Collins' arm on the throw to force an incompletion, THEN SUISHAM MIFFS THE FG.

BRUTAL!!!

Seattle takes over at their 20, down only 14-13. Hasselbeck gets time and hits Engram for 19. Then he barely avoids a sack - he got grabbed - and hits Hackett for 15. Haven't heard London Fletcher's name called at all today, btw. Draw to Alexander for 8, nice call. 2nd-2, Seattle should go up top here. Hasselbeck rolls, has to avoid Rocky McIntosh diving at his feet, and makes a STUPID throw, getting picked off by Landry for the 2nd time at the Redskin 10. Completely forced, completely stupid throw.

False start bumps Washington back to the 5. That's only their 2nd today, I think, so it's not like the crowd noise is killing them. Sellers gains a couple up the middle. 2nd-12. Backtoss to Portis, who tries an immediate cutback but only gains a couple. 3rd-10. Trufant breaks up pass to Moss nicely and Washington will punt. Seattle will take over around their 41 as the wind takes over again. The wind also held up that kickoff that Burleson misplayed earlier, so it's one of the MVPs today.

Flare route to the TE incomplete, 2nd-10 for Seattle. Stretch handoff to Morris for about 5. Hey, there's London Fletcher. Huge play here, 7:30 left in the game. Weird throw by Hasselbeck, but Burleson makes a great play on it for 15, getting away with a shove on Springs. 1st down from the 23. Alexander gains 3. 2nd-7, Hackett beats Preston Prioleau badly with an inside move and catches a 20-yarder from Matt for the TD. 19-14, Seattle goes for two and gets it on a tough throw and catch by Marcus Pollard on the goal line, shedding (there he is) London Fletcher.

21-14 Seahawks.

NFL Digest of Rules confirms that the kicking team may not advance a kickoff unless the receiver had possession and lost the ball. I think I was thinking about the -receiving- team returning onside kicks before.

ANOTHER big kick return by Cartwright, though Sellers had a block in the back right at the end that will knock it back a little. Funny thing is, the guy made the tackle because Sellers knocked him down. Josh Brown may have saved a TD there from his kicker position (Hidden play?).

What a meltdown by Washington the very next play. Collins tries to throw deep but is hit AGAIN as he throws by Rocky Bernard (!). The throw's a mile off; Santana Moss can't even find it, but Marcus Trufant can, and he gets three outstanding blocks en route to an 80-yard, game-clinching, hello-Green-Bay TD return. Seattle scores 15 points quicker than Washington scored their 14, and have their feet on the Redskins' throats, 28-14 with 5:38 left.

Seattle's got this kick covered, and Cartwright only gets out to the 28. Dumpoff to Portis for 14 with Collins' pocket collapsing. 10 to Cooley. Seattle only bringing 4 but getting great push. Heyer was hurt on the Trufant pick six. Craig Terrill drops Collins for a sack. Collins has to dumpoff to Portis on 2nd-long. He gets back across midfield but gets creamed on the way down. Betts replaces him; actually looks like a foot injury. 3rd-8. Interestingly, Seattle blitzes two. Moss makes an impressive leaping grab for the first down. Short pass to Randle El. 2nd-8 from about the 30 with about 3:00 left. Collins goes up top for Randle El but Russell knocks it down. 3rd-8. Looper to the sideline for Caldwell is also knocked down. 4th-8, Collins can't connect with Moss, and this one is over.

Seattle starts running; Washington starts burning timeouts. Seattle will punt with 2:00 left.

Fair catch by Randle-El at the 25, and apparently there is no penalty in the NFL for not giving the returner the opportunity to make the catch, because there was a guy all over him. After several short completions, Collins kills me in the football pool by throwing another INT/TD, brought back by Jordan Babineaux. I only had 37 total points and was looking good until that made it 35-14.

Hard to pick an MVP for this game. Everybody on the Seattle defense made some kind of big play. Kerney made an important play to stop the Skins after the Seahawks screwed up the kickoff down 14-13, and had a huge first half, so he barely noses Marcus Trufant out for the honor. (I detest splitting the award like Madden and Michaels constantly do on the stupid "horse trailer".)

Seattle's D never gets that much national attention, but they just go out and beat people, and they were the winning edge for Seattle today. The Redskins need to get healthier/deeper on their offensive line, and Cooley was a major disappointment. Washington's little WRs couldn't get open, and Cooley disappeared. Then again, porous offensive lines take TEs out of the game. Skins could still use a big receiver. Think they'd take Drew Bennett for Randle-El?

Hard to like Seattle's chances in Green Bay next week, because I think the Packer D will eat Hasselbeck alive. He'll have to play a lot better than he did today just to stay even.