Out of the four NFL wildcard playoff games this weekend, the one that most are probably looking forward to is the very last one on Sunday afternoon. That would be the game between the Washington Redskins and the Seattle Seahawks.
This is for a few reasons.
First, these two teams have passionate fan bases. The Seahawks are home to the 12th man, while the Redskins routinely sell out all of their games. But now we add in two hot rookie quarterbacks, and the way that these two teams finished the season, and it adds to the hype.
The Redskins closed with a seven-game win streak, defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17 to clinch the NFC East division, and ensuring that they would get at least one game at home during the postseason.
The Seahawks finished with a five-game win streak of their own, nearly chasing down San Francisco in the NFC West division. But Seattle winds up with the No.5 seed as a wildcard. The Seahawks are garnering plenty of momentum from analysts as a team that could make a run to the Super Bowl as a wildcard.
In fact, Seattle is favored on the road over Washington on NFL betting odds. Granted, it’s a slightly margin of three points, but it goes to show that oddsmakers are getting on the Seahawks bandwagon this year as well.
Obviously the game will come down to the pay of the two rookie quarterbacks. The Seahawks hold the edge on the defensive side of the ball, playing out of their minds over the course of the last four seasons. Seattle ranks in the top-10 both against the run and the pass.
On the offensive side of the ball, Seattle ranks 3rd in rushing. So if you put the combination of a stout defense, and a great rushing offense, it’s recipe to win football games.
But there is no team statistically better running the ball than Washington. The Redskins ranked No.1 this season, as just about 170 per game. That is thanks to rookie running back Alfred Morris, who rushed for over 1,600 yards. But it’s also due to Griffin, who tabbed over 800 rushing yards this year.
It looks like the team who can slow down the run game might have a very good shot at winning this one. The funny thing about it, is that both the quarterbacks can run the ball and scramble well.