Matt Hasselbeck admitted that he still felt some pain in his throwing elbow after the Seahawks' 28-26 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

But the Seahawks' quarterback — who completed 21 of 27 pass attempts, threw for two scores and ran for another — isn't likely to miss practice time this week in preparation for the playoffs.

"I think it's at the point where it's go time. It's the playoffs and this is what this whole season has been about," Hasselbeck said Sunday. "It's going to be really important for me to be out there practicing, so that's going to be my mindset."

Hasselbeck has missed some practice time over the past couple of weeks because of a painful elbow, which he injured in the fourth quarter of the loss at New York on Dec. 19. He did not play the following week.

"I thought I looked a little rusty," Hasselbeck said of his performance against Atlanta. "Hopefully those are things you learn from. You just get back in there and try to get back in the rhythm and do better next time."

What bothered D-Jack?

Celebration should have been the order of the moment after the Seahawks defeated the Falcons for the division title, but turmoil grabbed part of center stage.

Running back Shaun Alexander vehemently expressed his displeasure about not winning the NFL rushing title. Wide receiver Koren Robinson was sent home for disciplinary reasons and did not play. And Darrell Jackson, another starting receiver, was apparently so upset about something that he declined interview requests.

Jackson caught three passes for 18 yards Sunday, including a 3-yard touchdown in the second quarter. But he came up 1 yard short of 1,200 receiving yards for the season, a milestone reached by only two other Seahawks in franchise history: Steve Largent and Robinson.

In the locker room after the game, a uniformed police officer blocked reporters from speaking to Jackson. Seahawks staff said they were familiar with the officer but were unaware that he was restricting access.

Playoff scenarios

If the Seahawks defeat St. Louis on Saturday at Qwest Field, they will play at either Atlanta or Philadelphia, depending which team wins the other wild-card game matching the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers. If the sixth-seeded Vikings win, they go to No. 1 Philadelphia. The Packers (No. 3) would go to No. 2 Atlanta in the divisional round.

With the Packers at Atlanta, a win over the Rams would send the fourth-seeded Seahawks to Philadelphia. Seattle would go to Atlanta if Minnesota wins.

The only way the Seahawks could host another playoff game is if they play the Vikings in the NFC title game.

Tickets still available

The Seahawks announced that 60,000 tickets for the playoff game were sold in six hours yesterday. That leaves about 6,000 tickets, which are on sale at www.seahawks.com, Ticketmaster or the Qwest Field box office.

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com