Final
Seahawks hold off Redskins with late rally
Jan 6, 2008 - 3:26 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Down the stretch, Todd Collins was nearly flawless in leading the Washington Redskins' surprising run to the playoffs. But the career backup finally made a critical mistake.Cornerback Marcus Trufant's 78-yard interception for a touchdown with 5:38 remaining sealed the Seattle Seahawks' 35-14 wild card victory over the Redskins on Saturday.
Trufant's score came just one play and 28 seconds after Matt Hasselbeck's 20-yard TD strike to D.J. Hackett and conversion pass to Marcus Pollard gave the Seahawks a 21-14 lead.
Seattle's win set up a meeting next Saturday with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, where Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren will face his former team.
"Green Bay is a special place," said Holmgren, who led the Packers to a victory in Super Bowl XXXI. "We're very excited about the opportunity. We know the challenges better than most."
During their four-game winning streak, the Redskins believed they were being aided by the spirit of the late Sean Taylor, who died on November 27 after being shot during a burglary at his home.
Even after his death, Taylor was listed as Washington's starter at free safety on the team's depth chart and for awhile Saturday, it almost appeared as if the Redskins were getting help from a higher power.
For nearly three quarters Saturday, the Redskins generated little offense and trailed, 13-0. They punted on their first six possessions and crossed midfield only once in the first half.
But Washington scored a pair of touchdowns in the first 2:22 of the fourth quarter to grab a 14-13 lead.
"We thought over the last few weeks that things might be in the cards for us," Collins said. "I thought they were turning that way early in the fourth quarter when he took the lead."
The Redskins' first break came when Seattle safety Brian Russell was called for interference on Collins' 4th-and-1 pass from the Seahawks' 17. That penalty led to Collins' 7-yard TD strike to Antwaan Randle El on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Just two plays later, Washington safety LaRon Landry picked off Hasselbeck at the Seahawks' 42. The Redskins needed only three plays to take the lead on Collins' 30-yard TD pass to Santana Moss.
With the crowd at Qwest Field suddenly silent, the Redskins got yet another break on the ensuing kickoff. The ball took an odd bounce over the head of return man Nate Burleson into the hands of Washington's Anthony Mix at Seattle's 14.
But Washington's magic may have run out when Shaun Suisham missed a 30-yard field goal wide right.
"I am always hesitant about one play," said Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, when asked in Suisham's missed field goal was the turning point of the game. "I never put it on somebody or one play, because there are a lot of different plays in a football game."
The Redskins got back the ball on Landry's second interception of the fourth quarter but Washington was forced to punt after picking up one first down.
This time, Hasselbeck responded with the Seahawks' season possibly on the line, finding Burleson for 15 yards before hitting Hackett over the middle for the go-ahead score.
"We had been struggling a little bit," Hasselbeck said. "We wanted a touchdown. (Holmgren) got real aggressive with the play calls and we were able to move the ball downfield."
The 36-year-old Collins, who had gone 10 years between starts, led the Redskins to a 4-0 record after starter Jason Campbell went down with a season-ending knee injury.
On Saturday, he became the second-oldest quarterback since 1960 to make his first playoff start.
After a 40-yard kickoff return by Rock Cartwright gave the Redskins a first down at their 45, Collins lofted a poorly thrown pass deep on the right sideline. It floated into the hands of Trufant and the Pro Bowl safety raced untouched down the sideline for the clinching score.
"I waited and waited for the ball to come down and it finally did," Trufant said. "The guys were blocking for me all over the place and it was just a good play."
"I never saw it," said Moss, who was the intended receiver on the play. "I just thought it was a dead play. I see the guy (Trufant) catch the ball like a punt out of nowhere."
Collins threw a second interception in the final minute that Jordan Babineaux took back 57 yards for another TD.
"I think that you couldn't ask much more from Todd's performance for the five games he was in," Gibbs added. "He brought us back to a point where he had a chance to win the game."
Collins finished 29-of-50 for 266 yards, with Randle El catching 10 passes for 94 yards. However, Seattle held Clinton Portis to just 52 yards rushing on 20 carries.
The Seahawks grabbed 10-0 halftime lead on Leonard Weaver's 17-yard TD run and Josh Brown's 50-yard field goal. Brown added a 33-yarder in the third quarter to make it 13-0.
- bones redskins made a great comeback, and then the wheels just came off after that missed fg
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 6 1:42 AM - WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 14 14
SEATTLE 7 3 3 22 35 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: SEA - TD, LEONARD WEAVER 17 YD RUN (JOSH
BROWN KICK), 11:15. Drive: 6 plays,
45 yards in 3:21. Key plays:
Burleson 20-yard punt return to
Washington 45
Jan 5 7:53 PM
TD SEA JORDAN BABINEAUX 57 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (JOSH BROWN KICK)
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:51 PM
TD SEA JORDAN BABINEAUX 57 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (JOSH BROWN KICK)
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:51 PM- WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
TD SEA
JORDAN BABINEAUX 57 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN
(JOSH BROWN KICK)
WASHINGTON 14
SEATTLE 35 0:27 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:51 PM
TD SEA MARCUS TRUFANT 78 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (JOSH BROWN KICK)
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:36 PM
TD SEA MARCUS TRUFANT 78 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (JOSH BROWN KICK)
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:36 PM- WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
TD SEA
MARCUS TRUFANT 78 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN
( KICK)
WASHINGTON 14
SEATTLE 28 5:38 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:33 PM - WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL PLAYOFFS
WASHINGTON 14
SEATTLE 21 5:56 LEFT, 4TH QTR
WAS BALL ON WAS 46 YD LINE
1ST AND 10
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:29 PM - bones wow, that's a waste of a turnover... pretty crazy 4th quarter so far and it's only 3:30 in
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:16 PM
TD WAS SANTANA MOSS 30 YD PASS FROM TODD COLLINS (SHAUN SUISHAM KICK)
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:07 PM
TD WAS SANTANA MOSS 30 YD PASS FROM TODD COLLINS (SHAUN SUISHAM KICK)
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:07 PM
TD WAS SANTANA MOSS 30 YD PASS FROM TODD COLLINS (SHAUN SUISHAM KICK)
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:07 PM- WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
TD WAS
SANTANA MOSS 30 YD PASS FROM TODD COLLINS
(SHAUN SUISHAM KICK)
WASHINGTON 14
SEATTLE 13 12:38 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:07 PM
TD WAS ANTWAAN RANDLE EL 7 YD PASS FROM TODD COLLINS (SHAUN SUISHAM KICK)
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:00 PM
TD WAS ANTWAAN RANDLE EL 7 YD PASS FROM TODD COLLINS (SHAUN SUISHAM KICK)
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:00 PM
TD WAS ANTWAAN RANDLE EL 7 YD PASS FROM TODD COLLINS (SHAUN SUISHAM KICK)
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:00 PM- WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
TD WAS
ANTWAAN RANDLE EL 7 YD PASS FROM TODD COLLINS
(SHAUN SUISHAM KICK)
WASHINGTON 7
SEATTLE 13 14:53 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 7:00 PM - WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
END, 3RD QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 0
SEATTLE 7 3 3 13 END, 3RD QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: SEA - TD, LEONARD WEAVER 17 YD RUN (JOSH
BROWN KICK), 11:15. Drive: 6 plays,
45 yards in 3:21. Key plays:
Burleson 20-yard punt return to
Washin
Jan 5 6:56 PM - WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
FG SEA
JOSH BROWN 33 YD
WASHINGTON 0
SEATTLE 13 4:30 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 6:43 PM - WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
WASHINGTON 0 0 0
SEATTLE 7 3 10 HALFTIME
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: SEA - TD, LEONARD WEAVER 17 YD RUN (JOSH
BROWN KICK), 11:15. Drive: 6 plays,
45 yards in 3:21. Key plays:
Burleson 20-yard punt return to
Washington
Jan 5 6:09 PM - WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
FG SEA
JOSH BROWN 50 YD
WASHINGTON 0
SEATTLE 10 8:58 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 5:37 PM - WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
END, 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
WASHINGTON 0 0
SEATTLE 7 7 END, 1ST QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: SEA - TD, LEONARD WEAVER 17 YD RUN (JOSH
BROWN KICK), 11:15. Drive: 6 plays,
45 yards in 3:21. Key plays:
Burleson 20-yard punt return to
Washin
Jan 5 5:20 PM - WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
TD SEA
LEONARD WEAVER 17 YD RUN
(JOSH BROWN KICK)
WASHINGTON 0
SEATTLE 7 3:45 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Commanders vs. SeahawksJan 5 5:04 PM
Related News
- Commanders Hire Dan Quinn as Head Coach Feb 1
- Commanders Reportedly Hire Former Warriors GM Bob Myers Jan 8
- Seahawks by the Numbers : Stacks of sacks, and other fun math Dec 26
- Washington Commanders Vs. New York Jets - Studs and Duds Dec 26
- Pre-Snap Reads 12/26: Seahawks Holiday weekend review Dec 26
- Daily Slop - 26 Dec 23: Everybody’s talking quarterbacks in Washington right now Dec 26
- All aTwitter: 26 December 2023 - Commanders currently hold the #3 overall pick in the 2024 draft (with two games left in the regular season) Dec 26
- ‘Monday Night Football’ picks and open thread: Ravens at 49ers Dec 25
- NFL on Christmas open thread: Raiders at Chiefs, Giants at Eagles Dec 25
- NFL Monday Football: Merry Christmas Tripleheader Dec 25
- Inside the Hawks’ best drive of 2023 Dec 25
- NFL Opening Odds, Week 17: Seahawks open as field goal favorites against Steelers Dec 25