With emotion bubbling to the surface even before the game starts, Seattle meets Washington’s challenge and backs up a teammate’s words.
By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
SEATTLE — The door to the Seattle Seahawks locker room burst open, and in stormed Deion Branch with anger in his eyes.
Saturday’s playoff game hadn’t even started yet and the veteran receiver was ready to hit someone — even though he wasn’t going to get that chance. While his teammates were making last-minute alterations to their uniforms, Branch was wearing jeans and a puffy white jacket because of a calf injury that would keep him out of the game.
“I was like, ‘Slow down, man, why are you so mad?’ ” teammate Nate Burleson said, recalling the way Branch broke onto the pre-game scene. “We didn’t know what was going on.”
A few minutes earlier, angered by earlier comments from Washington cornerback Shawn Springs, Branch had started jawing with several members of the Redskins secondary near the 50-yard line. Game official Michael Banks, who was warming up nearby, and Seahawks secondary coach Jim Mora had to hold Branch back from several Washington players who were trying to get at the receiver.
Welcome to the playoffs, where even the inactive players are geared up and ready for battle.
“It almost got to the point where I felt like I was OK to play,” Branch said.
The Seahawks matched the passion of the NFL’s most emotional team on Saturday, jumping out to an early lead and closing strong to beat Washington 35-14 in a wild-card game at Qwest Field. Seattle will face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, with the winner getting a chance to play for the NFC championship.
“People might not think we’re Super Bowl capable,” Seattle’s Burleson said, “but I guess we’ve got just as good a chance as anyone else at this point.”
While the Seahawks had the crowd on their side, it was Washington that entered Saturday’s game with most of the emotion. Following the November death of safety Sean Taylor, the Redskins stormed into the playoffs with four consecutive victories. The Seahawks, who hadn’t played a meaningful game in almost a month, knew they had to match that intensity.
“(Washington’s players) had to deal with a lot of stuff emotionally this year, and they are going to continue to do that,” said Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, whose only touchdown pass Saturday gave Seattle a 21-14 lead with 6:06 remaining. “Like I said all (last) week, our focus was on us and just playing a football game. We feel for those guys, but for three hours (Saturday), we had to stay focused and play a football game.”
A 10-0 halftime lead looked like it might be enough on an afternoon when the Seattle defense was controlling the line of scrimmage. But two mistakes in the fourth quarter — a pass interference call on fourth down and a Hasselbeck interception — helped Washington score back-to-back touchdowns in a 21/2-minute span to take a 14-13 lead.
After that, it was all Seahawks. Hasselbeck led Seattle down the field and threw the go-ahead touchdown pass to D.J. Hackett, and then defensive backs Marcus Trufant and Jordan Babineaux both scored on long interception returns in the final 5:38 to put an end to Washington’s emotional season.
After scoring just two defensive touchdowns all season, the Seahawks scored two in a matter of just over five minutes.
“When they come, they come in bunches,” said linebacker Leroy Hill, who had a game-high 13 tackles. “So hopefully they keep coming.”
Trufant’s interception came 28 seconds after Seattle had regained the lead on Hackett’s touchdown reception. Trufant got under a Todd Collins pass that floated over the head of intended receiver Santana Moss, then scrambled up the left sideline for a 78-yard score.
The play helped save a defense that had played three quarters of error-free football, only to give up back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth.
“That’s what the playoffs are all about,” safety Deon Grant said. “When it’s time for you to come up big, how are you going to show up?
“Early in the game, when we were up seven and they didn’t have any points, we were just looking like a mediocre defense. When our backs were against the wall, that’s when we showed what type of defense we really were.”
Babineaux’s interception return cemented a Seattle victory on an emotion-filled day.
“Our emotion was high because it’s the playoffs,” Grant said. “Even if they had said nothing to the media, even if they hadn’t talked any noise before the game, our emotion still would have been high. That’s how it is in the playoffs.”
Linebacker Julian Peterson said he was motivated by talk that the Seahawks weren’t as physical as teams from the NFC East. Offensive lineman Sean Locklear said he grew tired of hearing television analysts pick Washington as the favorite.
And then there was Branch, who even didn’t get to take out his emotions during the game.
Last Thursday, Branch read quotes from Springs that seemed to discredit the Seahawks’ receiving corps. Springs had told several Seattle reporters that Hasselbeck was having the best season of any NFC quarterback, and he provided evidence by saying that the other top quarterbacks, Tony Romo of Dallas and Green Bay’s Brett Favre, had Pro Bowl receivers.
“I felt (Springs) disrespected the receiving group,” Branch said after Saturday’s game. “Matt’s a great quarterback. Matt does his job on this team. But don’t go talking about how Matt’s carrying the team by himself, like we don’t have anything to do with it.”
Rather than keep his anger to himself, Branch brought up the subject with Springs during a pre-game huddle between Washington’s defensive backs. Several Washington players started jawing with Branch, who eventually wandered into the huddle before Banks and Mora pulled him away.
After Saturday’s victory, Branch was relieved that his teammates had backed up his talk.
“I might be the happiest man in the locker room,” Branch said. “There’s nobody in here as happy as I am. I wanted to be on the field bad. Those guys promised me I’d get a chance to be out there again, and now I have that.”
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