Familiarity a common theme in next round

Do-overs, all over the place.

All four of next weekend’s playoff games will be rematches from the regular season: Washington vs. Seattle and New England vs. Denver on Saturday, Pittsburgh at Indianapolis and Carolina at Chicago on Sunday.

The Panthers manhandled the Giants at the Meadowlands on Sunday 23-0, becoming the first road playoff team to post a shutout since 1980. A day earlier, Washington went into Tampa Bay and won 17-10.

Next up for Carolina is that return trip to frigid Chicago. The Bears beat the Panthers 13-3 at Soldier Field on Nov. 20, one of the NFC North champion’s most impressive wins all season.

Washington goes to the conference’s top seed. They met on Oct. 2 in Washington, where Nick Novak’s overtime field goal beat the Seahawks 20-17.

The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Patriots moved on with a decisive 28-3 win Saturday night against overmatched Jacksonville. They fell at Denver 28-20 on Oct. 16.

Pittsburgh earned its return to Indianapolis with a 31-17 victory at Cincinnati. On Nov. 28, the Colts took down the Steelers 26-7.

Seattle was spotless at home in compiling the NFC’s best record, but one of its two meaningful defeats came at Washington, 20-17 on Oct. 2. The Seahawks, led by NFL Most Valuable Player Shaun Alexander and an opportunistic defense, took off from there, not losing until the season finale in Green Bay that had no bearing on the standings.

The Redskins are nearly as hot. They won their last five games to get into the playoffs as a wild card, then handled Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Carolina dominated New York, looking much like the team that won three postseason games two years ago to get to the Super Bowl. NFL Co-Comeback Player of the Year Steve Smith scored a pair of touchdowns, DeShaun Foster ran for 151 yards and the staunch defense rattled Eli Manning into four turnovers.

Nothing will faze the Patriots as they seek an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl crown. Indeed, a snowy night game in January plays right into their hands.

The Colts look like a team on a mission, with a vastly improved, speedy defense that can bail them out if the offense sputters. And while the Steelers have won five in a row with solid defense, a potent running game and some trick plays, they will need a sensational performance to eliminate Indy.