One good turn: Seattle survives wild-card fourth quarter

SEATTLE – Turning points? You want turning points?

In the cornfield maze that was Seattle Seahawks’ delightful 35-14 victory over the Washington Redskins on Saturday in the first of the weekend’s four NFL wild-card playoff games, there was little that wasn’t a turning point.

“The missed field goal was big,” said Seahawks defensive tackle Brandon Mebane. “But, really, anything that turned in our favor was real big.”

Of course, no one will remember any of it that happened in advance of a wild, wonderful fourth quarter that produced 36 points, four interceptions, an unfielded kickoff and that missed 30-yard field goal by Washington’s Shaun Suisham which, in truth, was probably the most devastating turn of all.

But just for the record, something happened before all the craziness that helped decide the game, too.

Seattle had nursed a 10-0 lead – on a 17-yard Leonard Weaver touchdown run and Josh Brown’s 50-yard field goal – into the latter stages of the second quarter when the Redskins finally got the field position flipped.

But with a grand opportunity at the Seattle 44-yard line, the Skins threw two passes incomplete and saw Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill sack quarterback Todd Collins with blocking back Ladell Betts still sandwiched between the two of them. Moments later, with the Skins back on the Seattle 43 and needing just a yard for a first down, Washington came up empty three times.

For the better part of three quarters, this was the story of the game – Seattle’s stifling of Clinton Portis and the Washington running game, and the pressure the Seahawks put on Collins, the career backup who had become December’s revelation by leading the Redskins to four season-closing wins.

Collins, a starter for the first time since Buffalo cut him loose in 1997, hadn’t thrown an interception since then, either. But he threw two Saturday that were run back for Seattle’s final touchdowns – 78 yards by Marcus Trufant and 57 yards by Jordan Babineaux – and other than a no-huddle series that produced the club’s one decent drive never got into any rhythm.

“We hit him a few times, sacked him a few times,” said Seattle coach Mike Holmgren. “He’s human. Any quarterback you do that to, it is going to have some effect. That’s one of the things we knew we had to do – deal with the run and maybe make his life a little more uncomfortable than it had been the last four games.”

It’ll be more of challenge making things uncomfortable for the next quarterback they face – Green Bay’s Brett Favre, whose Packers will host the Seahawks in the NFC divisional playoffs on Saturday.

On the other hand, if they can survive what happened in the fourth quarter against the Skins, the Seahawks may survive anything.

After Collins had engineered that 84-yard drive to get Washington on the scoreboard on the first play of the fourth quarter, the world seemed to cave in on the Seahawks. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw the first of two interceptions to rookie LaRon Landry and Collins capitalized with a 30-yard strike to Santana Moss which gave the Redskins a 14-13 lead.

Then Seattle’s Nate Burleson ran up to field a pooch kickoff only to have it sail over his head, where the Skins’ Anthony Mix scooped it up on one hop at the Seahawks’ 14. But the defense stiffened again and, almost miraculously, Suisham hooked the point-blank kick.

“Those special teams plays that take place that no one really expects – but it happens – have a tremendous shifting of emotions for both teams,” Holmgren said. “They came out of a real good situation with no points. It’s tough to overcome those things.”

It took another Hasselbeck interception – and then a fine third-down defensive play by Trufant on a pass to Moss – but the Seahawks got the field position flipped again. On second down from the Redskins’ 20, Hasselbeck deked Landry with a look to the right and D.J. Hackett undressed Pierson Prioleau for the go-ahead touchdown.

“Once I made the move, I knew I was open,” Hackett said. “I saw the safety run over there and I was just saying, ‘Just get it to me.’ Those are the types of balls that can’t get there fast enough.”

Just two plays later, Trufant made his pick of a long heave that Moss never tracked and made his way to the end zone with the help of a smashing block by Mebane.

“I think I showed a little bit of skill out there,” Trufant said, “a little bit of shake and bake. I’m having fun. Jordan had a great runback, I had a great runback and it’s all for the win. So it’s all good.”

Collins, who led the Redskins’ surge that seemed to be at least in part an emotional response to the late-season slaying of standout safety Sean Taylor, found it hard to let go of the season.

“It’s been tough, but it’s also been a good month of football for us,” he said. “We thought over the last few weeks that things might be in the cards for us. It’s very disappointing that things can turn so quickly.”