Seahawks head to Washington D.C. for Wildcard round | Seahawks Gameday

The Seahawks remained hot with a 20-13 win over the division rival St. Louis Rams on Sunday in the regular season finale and will head to the nation's capital to open the playoffs against a Washington Redskins squad that is also rolling.

January 4, 2013 1:27 pm
Marshawn Lynch was ruled out of bounds inside the one-yard line on this run and will be a key force as the team travels to Washington D.C. for the Wildcard round of the NFC playoffs.
Marshawn Lynch was ruled out of bounds inside the one-yard line on this run and will be a key force as the team travels to Washington D.C. for the Wildcard round of the NFC playoffs.

The Seahawks remained hot with a 20-13 win over the division rival St. Louis Rams on Sunday in the regular season finale and will head to the nation’s capital to open the playoffs against a Washington Redskins squad that is also rolling.

A late offensive surge provided the final margin in Sunday’s win over the Rams, their first division loss of the year, and Seattle will head to Washington D.C. to meet Robert Griffin III and a team that has won its last seven games.

The game will pit two of the league’s top three rushing offenses, with fellow rookie Alfred Morris leading the way on the ground for the Redskins’ top-ranked attack. Morris has rushed for 1,613 yards and 13 scores on 335 carries, good for an average of 4.8 per rush.

Seattle counters with Marshawn Lynch and the third-ranked rushing game. Lynch has rushed for 1,590 yards this year on 315 carries with 11 scores, a 5.0 yards per carry average.

The most noticeable difference in the two teams comes in the form of total defense, where the Seahawks are fourth while Washington is 28th. The Redskins also have the NFL’s 30th ranked pass defense, which should mean plenty of opportunities for Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson.

Wilson tied Peyton Manning’s rookie touchdown passing record with a toss to Michael Robinson in the win over the Rams and now has 26 touchdowns against 10 interceptions on the year. He enters the game with 3,118 yards passing on the year.

Sidney Rice is still the leading target, with 748 yards receiving and seven scores.

The two teams have met twice in the postseason, both ended in Seattle wins in front of the home crowd. The Seahawks took a 20-10 win on the way to Super Bowl XL in 2006 before winning a 35-14 game two years later.