Scouting Washington

Season

Washington opened 5-3, including a 20-17 overtime win at home over the Seahawks on Oct. 2. A three-game losing streak put Washington on the verge of elimination, but the NFC East squad finished with five straight wins to claim the No. 6 seed in the playoffs — the team's first playoff berth since 1999.

Washington's 120 yards in its win over Tampa Bay on Saturday were the fewest for a winning team in a playoff game.

Coach

The win over Tampa Bay gave Joe Gibbs a 17-5 playoff record, including Super Bowl titles in 1982, '87 and '91. He is third on the career list for playoff wins, behind Tom Landry (20) and Don Shula (19).

Gibbs went 6-10 in 2004, his first season back after an 11-year retirement. But he flipped that record around this season and is back in the playoffs for the first time since 1992.

He favors a power running attack with multiple passing formations, and he likes to throw it deep.

He leaves the defense to coordinator Gregg Williams, who likes to be aggressive.

Quarterback

Mark Brunell had a solid season for Washington after regaining the starting job when Patrick Ramsey was injured in the season opener.

Brunell, a former Washington Husky, picked apart the Seahawks in October, completing 20 of 36 passes for 226 yards. He completed seven passes for first downs on third-and-seven or longer. Three of those came in overtime as he set his team up for the winning 39-yard field goal.

But Brunell completed just 7 of 15 passes for 41 yards and one interception against Tampa Bay last weekend.

Running backs

Clinton Portis was fourth in the NFL with 1,516 rushing yards this season, but his shoulders have bothered him for two weeks. He played sparingly Saturday, gaining 53 yards on 16 attempts.

He said he plans to play against Seattle, but the Seahawks can expect to see plenty of Ladell Betts, who is 10 to 15 pounds heavier than the 212-pound Portis. Betts got 10 carries Saturday.

Receivers

Santana Moss was No. 2 in the NFL in receiving yards and caught six passes for 87 yards in the first game against Seattle. On Washington's winning overtime drive, he had two catches for 43 yards on third-and-10 plays.

Tampa Bay double-teamed him Saturday and held him to two catches for 18 yards.

Tight end Chris Cooley is Brunell's No. 2 target, with 71 catches for 774 yards and seven touchdowns.

Offensive line

This unit was healthy for most of the season and paved the way for the NFL's No. 11 offense and No. 4 rusher.

The group has taken some hits in recent weeks. Randy Thomas suffered a broken leg against the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 18, and 43-year-old graybeard Ray Brown has started the past three games at right guard. Also, left tackle Chris Samuels has been hobbled by knee problems for much of the season.

Defensive line

The foursome anchored the league's ninth-ranked defense. Former Seahawks end Phillip Daniels had eight sacks and tackle Cornelius Griffin added four.

Starting end Renaldo Wynn suffered a broken arm Saturday and is out. So Demetric Evans, who had three sacks in part-time duty this season, will start against Seattle.

Linebackers

Marcus Washington and Lemar Marshall spearheaded this unit, combining for 191 tackles. Playing in Williams' aggressive, blitzing defense, Washington had 7 ½ sacks, and Marshall had four interceptions.

Against Tampa Bay on Saturday, Washington recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass.

LaVar Arrington, a former first-round pick, emerged from the doghouse at about midseason and regained his starting spot. He set up a touchdown with an interception Saturday.

Defensive backs

Shawn Springs sat out the Tampa Bay game to rest a groin injury, but he plans to play against his old Seattle teammates.

Walt Harris and rookie Carlos Rogers join Springs to form a solid cornerback trio.

Safety Sean Taylor, the fifth pick overall in 2004, has played well this season, but he also is a loose cannon. He scored on a 51-yard fumble return in the first quarter against Tampa, but he was ejected in the third quarter after spitting on Bucs RB Michael Pittman.

Special teams

John Hall made 12 of 14 field-goal attempts, with a long of 45. When Hall missed seven games early in the season, Nick Novak came in and hit 5 of 7 kicks, including the 39-yarder in OT to beat Seattle.

Washington made 17 of 21 field-goal attempts, the fewest makes and attempts in the NFL. Its punting average of 40.3 was even worse than Seattle's (41.0). It also was terrible in punt-return average, although its 6.0 yards were better than Seattle's 5.7, which ranked 30th.

Washington's one bright spot was kick returns, where it ranked 11th at 23.2 yards with Betts and Antonio Brown doing most of the work.

Chris Cluff