NFL playoffs are the most exciting time of the season. This year, they are most intriguing, too.
Start with the NFC first-round matchup of the Seattle Seahawks at the Washington Redskins Sunday at 4:30, a game that pits two of the top rookie quarterbacks in the league. Robert Griffin III led his team to the NFC East title — the Redskins’ first since 1999 — with a 28-18 victory Sunday night over the rival Dallas Cowboys.
For his dynamic play this season, as a passer and runner, Griffin was named to the Pro Bowl last week. Rookie running back Alfred Morris, who set the Redskins’ single-season rushing record once held by Clinton Portis with 1,613 yards on the year (200 against Dallas Sunday), is equally important to Washington.
Meanwhile, there is Russell Wilson in Seattle. The former Wisconsin QB was a third-round draft choice and entered training camp No. 3 on the depth chart. But coach Pete Carroll was impressed with Wilson’s leadership, accuracy with the ball and maneuverability.
Wilson led the Seahawks to a surprising fining for a wild card playoff position.
Sunday night’s prime time game pits Minnesota and the remarkable Adrian Peterson against the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers in their third meeting of the season. In fact, they just played Sunday, with the Vikings making the playoffs on a late field goal.
Now these NFC North rivals go at it again in Green Bay, which won the division.
In the AFC another rookie quarterback, Andrew Luck, led the Indianapolis Colts to the post-season in an emotional season for a team that last year won just two games. At 11-5, Luck has been all Indy hoped he would be be and more as the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Additionally, coach Chuck Pagano, who missed much of the season battling leukemia, returned to the sidelines Sunday, an inspiring moment for one of the surprising teams of the season. The Colts travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens, who get the home game because they won their division.
The Colts, of course, were once the Baltimore Colts, until then-owner Robert Irsay moved the team moved to Indianapolis. Trust that there is a lot of animosity still about that, and injured Ray Lewis and Ed Reed — two sure-fire Hall of Famers — return to action for this game.
All this playoff activity stats Saturday in Houston, where the Texans host the Cincinatti Bengals as the No. 3 seed. Houston at one time looked like a championship-caliber team, but it fell behind the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots in the AFC.
