Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins take on Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. at 4:30 p.m. EST Sunday on FOX. With both teams' QBs testing their post-season mettle for the first time, this wild card match-up will be a true battle of the rookies.
The Redskins' third consecutive playoff game against the Seahawks since getting trounced by Seattle in 2005 and 2007, Washington is hungry to prove this is a totally new team, and star QB Robert Griffin III is a huge part of that equation. The No. 2 draft pick has eviscerated everyone's expectations this year, throwing for 3,200 yards and 20 touchdowns, and rushing for another astonishing 815 yards and seven touchdowns in the regular season. And the Redskins have only gotten better as the season's worn on. Since starting 3-6, Washington has won seven straight games, including last weekend's 28-18 victory over the Dallas Cowboys to win the NFC East Championship.
"Their offense has changed kinda what you can do in the NFL," Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said of the Redskins, according to Seattlepi.com. "I think it's been very much a cutting-edge style that they've gone about."
Like everyone else, the Seahawks are all too aware Griffin's been the main catalyst behind the Redskins' renewed vigor.
"RG3, he has all of those commercials for a reason. He's done it, and he's been just incredible. Even now, coming back from injury, he's still playing well and executing great game plans. He's just an amazing player and he has extraordinary accuracy," Carroll said.
Griffin might steal most of the headlines, but Seattle's rookie QB Wilson is arguably just as good. Griffin and Wilson had the third and fourth highest overall QB rating in the NFL this season, respectively. Each QB attempted 393 passes during the season. Griffin completed 65.6 percent of his throws; Wilson completed 64.1 percent. Griffin had just five interceptions, while Wilson threw just 10, still fewer than vets like Peyton Manning (11), Matt Ryan (14), and Drew Brees (19).
Many doubted Wilson simply because of his size — he's 5-foot-11-inches — but he's easily proved his critics wrong from the start, playing Pro Bowl quality football since the team eased him in as starter mid-season, throwing for 3,118 yards and 26 touchdowns through the air, with 16 of those touchdown passes in the second half of the season alone.
"He's allowed us to really do everything that we can think of. We trust him in everything we're calling. It doesn't matter what play it is, what concept it is, we trust him to be able to handle it," Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said of Wilson, according to Seattlepi.com.
"That's a wonderful feeling for a coach, that you trust your quarterback like that. It's remarkable that you could say that about a first-year guy but, somewhere in the middle of the year, we could tell."
Starting 4-4, but winning seven of its last eight games, Seattle is riding into Sunday on a five-game winning streak. But will it be enough to take down the most hyped QB in the NFL, at home, no less? Either way, Sunday's match-up should prove to be one of most exciting games of wild card weekend.
Live Score is provided by ESPN.
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