Wild Card game to watch: Seahawks vs Redskins

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The NFL playoffs have finally arrived and only a few short weeks remain until we can crown a world champion. For now we have wild card weekend to look forward to, and the most enticing game for fans whose team didn’t make the big dance, is Sundays matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins. Both teams sport shining rookie quarterbacks, top of the league running backs, and receivers who can on occasion provide their teams with a much-needed spark. Seattle has the upper-hand on the defensive end, regardless look for this game to be a high scoring shootout.

Robert Griffin III of the Redskins and Russell Wilson of the Seahawks burst onto the scene this year stealing the spotlight in their respective cities as young bright stars fans hope will take them to the Superbowl. Griffin has passed for 3,200 yds along with 20 TD’s to only 5 picks and has rushed for over 800 yds. Wilson with similar stats has thrown for 3,118 yds 26 TD’s and 10 INT’s and rushed for 489 yds. Both QBs are heralded for what they’ve done this season Griffin more than Wilson simply because of his high draft choice. However the matchup of quarterbacks isn’t the only scintillating positional battle to watch Sunday.

Marshawn Lynch has had his time in the league and produced many eye-popping plays as a running back for the Seahawks and Buffalo Bills. Who could forget his playoff clinching dash to the end zone against the Saints last season setting off the Richter scale in Seattle? However, there’s a new star on the scene in Washington in rookie Alfred Morris. Morris dropped in the draft after running only a 4.6 in the 40 at the combine, but despite all that, he rushed for over 1,600 yds. The combination of Morris and RGIII has led the once lowly Redskins to NFC East champions. Seattle hasn’t had a viable QB RB combination since Hasselbeck and Alexander, now that they do they’re looking like a legitimate threat.

Throw in the craziness of wildcard weekend, 2 rookie quarterbacks on the verge of greatness, and two of the top running backs in the league and you have the premier matchup of the wildcard round. Look for an exciting, high scoring, offense dominated game. In a game such as this it may come down to something as simple as who has the ball last or who scores first. Regardless of these factors  I like Seattle in this game, The Seahawks have been scoring almost at will in recent weeks and look for them to continue to do so against a Washington team whose defense can be porous.

Zachary Helbling is an NFL writer for TPF and can be contacted at ZHelbling@ThePenaltyFlagBlog.com.