Five things to know about next Sunday’s Seattle Seahawks-Washington Redskins playoff game at FedEx Field:
1. Tough to contain. This playoff game features two of the NFL's three sensational rookie quarterbacks in Washington's Robert Griffin III and Seattle’s Russell Wilson. Redskins fans who haven't seen Wilson should know that he is just getting started when he is flushed out of the pocket. Wilson was 8-for-9 for 173 yards on throws outside the pocket in Sunday’s victory over the St. Louis Rams, according to ESPN Stats & information. For the season, Wilson led the NFL with 57 completions when throwing from outside the pocket, and his five touchdown passes from outside the pocket ranked second in the league.
2. Good memory. The Redskins did not play the Seahawks this season, but they beat them 23-17 in Seattle in Week 12 of 2011. That was a somewhat shocking game in which the Redskins trailed 17-7 with 10 minutes to go but managed to score 16 unanswered points with Rex Grossman at quarterback and Roy Helu rushing for 108 yards on 23 carries in the game against what was then one of the toughest run defenses in the league. Different personnel, to be sure, in key spots, but the Redskins who played in that game might be able to draw some confidence from the memory of beating the Seahawks in Seattle not that long ago.
3. Stingy Seahawks. Seattle allowed just 245 points this season, an average of 15.3 points per game and the lowest total in the NFL. They have not allowed more than 17 points in a game since Week 12, and they only allowed more than 20 once in the second half of the regular season.
4. Home cooking. One of the perks of being a division champion is getting a first-round home game, and that’s especially helpful when the opponent is the Seahawks. Seattle is 8-0 at home this year and wins by an average score of 30-12 in home games. The Seahawks are just 3-5 on the road. They did win their last two road games -- 23-17 in overtime at Chicago in Week 13 and 50-17 at Buffalo in Week 15. But road losses in places like Arizona, Miami, St. Louis and Detroit bolster the case that it’s much better to get the Seahawks in your own place than it is to try and beat them in their rowdy, raucous home stadium.
5. Win downfield. One area in which the Seahawks are not strong is at wide receiver, where they don’t have the kinds of playmakers who dominate matchups even against suspect secondaries such as Washington’s. If the Redskins were able to handle Dez Bryant on Sunday night, they should be okay against Sidney Rice and Golden Tate. Seattle’s best big-play threat is running back Marshawn Lynch, but the Redskins have looked good in recent weeks against power run games.
1. Tough to contain. This playoff game features two of the NFL's three sensational rookie quarterbacks in Washington's Robert Griffin III and Seattle’s Russell Wilson. Redskins fans who haven't seen Wilson should know that he is just getting started when he is flushed out of the pocket. Wilson was 8-for-9 for 173 yards on throws outside the pocket in Sunday’s victory over the St. Louis Rams, according to ESPN Stats & information. For the season, Wilson led the NFL with 57 completions when throwing from outside the pocket, and his five touchdown passes from outside the pocket ranked second in the league.
2. Good memory. The Redskins did not play the Seahawks this season, but they beat them 23-17 in Seattle in Week 12 of 2011. That was a somewhat shocking game in which the Redskins trailed 17-7 with 10 minutes to go but managed to score 16 unanswered points with Rex Grossman at quarterback and Roy Helu rushing for 108 yards on 23 carries in the game against what was then one of the toughest run defenses in the league. Different personnel, to be sure, in key spots, but the Redskins who played in that game might be able to draw some confidence from the memory of beating the Seahawks in Seattle not that long ago.
3. Stingy Seahawks. Seattle allowed just 245 points this season, an average of 15.3 points per game and the lowest total in the NFL. They have not allowed more than 17 points in a game since Week 12, and they only allowed more than 20 once in the second half of the regular season.
4. Home cooking. One of the perks of being a division champion is getting a first-round home game, and that’s especially helpful when the opponent is the Seahawks. Seattle is 8-0 at home this year and wins by an average score of 30-12 in home games. The Seahawks are just 3-5 on the road. They did win their last two road games -- 23-17 in overtime at Chicago in Week 13 and 50-17 at Buffalo in Week 15. But road losses in places like Arizona, Miami, St. Louis and Detroit bolster the case that it’s much better to get the Seahawks in your own place than it is to try and beat them in their rowdy, raucous home stadium.
5. Win downfield. One area in which the Seahawks are not strong is at wide receiver, where they don’t have the kinds of playmakers who dominate matchups even against suspect secondaries such as Washington’s. If the Redskins were able to handle Dez Bryant on Sunday night, they should be okay against Sidney Rice and Golden Tate. Seattle’s best big-play threat is running back Marshawn Lynch, but the Redskins have looked good in recent weeks against power run games.
Source: http://espn.go.com
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