Article:NFL Wild Card Playoff Preview

Seattle Seahawks v. Washington Redskins After four consecutive victories the Washington Redkins are one of the hottest teams in all of the NFL and poised for a big playoff run. Their opponents, the Seattle Seahawks, have been a little up-and-down as of late. They lost to the horrible Panthers and Falcons this month and pilled on wins again lowly NFC West foes to win their weak division. On paper the ‘Hawks might have the better all around team, especially on offense with Matt Hasselbeck, but the Skins are simply a team on a mission. Todd Collins has been quite efficient as the team’s quarterback and team leader since the injury to Jason Campbell. He has led a Redskins offense that has played mistake-free football, which is the key in the postseason. Since the death of Sean Taylor, Washington appears to be a team focused and ready to play with enthusiasm. Redskins 27-24

Pittsburgh Steelers v. Jacksonville Jaguars Everyone around the NFL seems to be on the Jaguars bandwagon right now, and it is pretty obvious as to why. Jacksonville has a dual-headed monster at running back with Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, a mistake-free quarterback in David Garrard, and a stifling defensive unit. For the past month, the Steelers have been pretty inconsistent, and they’ll also be playing without star running back Willie Parker, who was injured just a few weeks ago. The Steelers to be on the downside while the Jaguars seem to be getting better each week. I’ll take the hotter team. Jaguars 24-17

Tampa Bay Buccaneers v. New York Giants While the Giants looked sensational offensively against the Patriots last Saturday, inconsistency has plagued them all season. Some games Eli Manning has looked like his older brother while in others he reminded fans of Ryan Leaf. What is most disturbing about Eli is his 20 interceptions and his 56% completion rate. Certainly the Giants have the firepower to potentially make a run in the NFC, but they have also proven to choke and collapse after emotional games such as last Saturday loss to New England. Look for the efficient Jeff Garcia and the stout Bucs defense to take over in this one. Buccaneers 23-17

San Diego Chargers v. Tennessee Titans The Titans only hope here is for the Chargers to self-destruct and beat themselves. That’s going to really tough, especially since the Chargers have now won 6 games in a row now. Earlier in the season Philip Rivers was playing like an inexperienced rookie bu now he is is starting to play like a poised veteran. With LaDainian Tomlinson in the backfield and stout defense led by Shaun Merriman, it seems as the Bolts are a lock here. Chargers 34-14