By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Darrell Jackson doesn’t need any pre-game speeches. He knows what’s at stake today when his Seattle Seahawks face the New York Giants in a crucial NFL contest.
Jackson knows his teammates won’t be needing any extra motivation, either, as the Seahawks try to keep alive their slim playoff hopes for one more week.
“You could look in people’s eyes all week and see that they’re really tuned in and really focused for this game,” Seattle’s leading receiver said in the days leading up to today’s contest. “This is a real big one, not only for the team but for the organization, with us going into a new stadium and everything.”
With a downtown stadium and a new conference on the horizon, the Seahawks would like to show the fans that they’re making progress. Somehow finding their way into the playoffs at the end of this season would certainly send quite a signal.
Of course, any realistic chance at postseason play is contingent on a win today. Seattle (7-6) is a game back in the wild-card race, and probably can’t afford to lose another game.
“We feel like we’re going to get it done, and you have to feel like that,” middle linebacker Levon Kirkland said. “The opportunities are very slim. We know that this is the key opportunity for us. We just need to get it done.”
Across the Giants Stadium turf from the Seahawks today will be a team in similar circumstances. The Giants (6-7) are one game back in the NFC wild-card race, and would probably be eliminated with a loss. The stakes are obvious – for both teams.
“If you don’t know what’s at stake, you’ve got problems,” Seahawks tight end Christian Fauria said. “You win, you’re (still alive); you lose, you’re out. It can’t get any more elementary than that.”
For both these teams to be in this position is a bit of a surprise. Two weeks ago, it appeared that both the Seahawks and Giants had lost all playoff hope. Seattle had just lost a pivotal game against Denver, falling into third place in the AFC West with a 6-6 record. The Giants had suffered their third straight defeat to fall to 5-7.
But both teams won last week, then benefited from losses by other wild-card contenders, and now have renewed playoff hopes.
“Once we hit a certain point, we knew we could lose a certain amount of games,” Fauria said. “Whether it was subconscious or not, (the Denver game) was one we ended up losing.
“It doesn’t really matter how you get to 10-6, as long as at the end, you’re 10-6. A lot of emphasis is placed on what games are important. Well, at this point in our lives, these last three games are the most important games ever. It makes all those games earlier like we never played them.”
(ED: THESE NEXT TWO GRAFS ARE DEPENDANT ON SATURDAY RESULTS.)
(USE THIS ONE IF PATRIOTS WIN)
The Seahawks remain a game out in the AFC wild-card race, and are hoping for a Baltimore loss today. They’ll also keep an eye on the New York Jets’ game with Indianapolis tonight. Both the Jets and Ravens lead the wild-card race by one game over Seattle, while the Miami Dolphins have a 1 1/2-game lead in the battle for three spots.
(USE THIS ONE IF PATRIOTS LOSE)
After the New England Patriots lost Saturday, the Seahawks are now in control of their own playoff destiny. If Seattle wins its final three games, the Seahawks will be in the playoffs for the second time in three years. They would most likely open the playoffs with a road game against the AFC East-champion Miami Dolphins.
(ED: END THE SATURDAY DEPENDANT PART)
Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren has been careful to stay away from mathematics and playoff scenarios over the past week.
“My daughter started going over that with me. She’s really into it,” Holmgren said Friday. “And I was like, ‘Don’t talk to me about it. I don’t want to think about it.’
“We’ve got to win this game,” he added. “It’s hard enough to control some of the stuff you think you have control over, and you don’t have any control over the other stuff.”
The Giants trail Tampa Bay and New Orleans in the race for the final wild-card spot in the NFC. The Buccaneers and Saints, both with 7-6 records, face off today.
Last year’s NFC champions and Super Bowl runners-up, the Giants aren’t happy with the fact that they’re paddling upstream toward the postseason.
“For the most part, it has been a little disappointing,” Giants defensive lineman Michael Strahan said in a conference call last week. “But we’ve hung in there, we’ve got a lot of fight in us, and I think we enjoy playing. So no matter what’s said or how it’s going, we’re going to continue to fight.”
The Seahawks seem to be much more optimistic about their position, which has a lot to do with last year’s 6-10 finish. Despite the inconsistency that has plagued Seattle all season, the Seahawks find themselves in position to possibly play on past the Jan. 6 season finale.
“It’s always nice when you’re playing for something,” Fauria said. “It makes the pain and the work worth it. Just to go and play the season just to play the season isn’t really worth it. There’s got to be a goal. It can’t be just to make it through the season and play 16 games. You can’t be satisfied with status quo.”
Fauria added that he hasn’t even thought about what might happen should the Seahawks lose. Should that happen, it might be time for Holmgren to get out the calculator in an effort to see if his team is still alive. Realistically, if not mathematically, a loss today will end the playoff hopes for one team.
“It’s a huge opportunity for us,” Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “Obviously, this is it. We’ve got the home stretch, and we’ve got to make it happen.”
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