Hawks eager to avenge October loss

Some might call them lucky. Or undeserving of Saturday night's epic 21-20 NFC wild-card playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys.

But no one can argue with the fact that the Seahawks have been there before. Many of the players have played in tight, heart-stopping playoff games. They have been to the Super Bowl and felt the intensity of the postseason. They have found ways to win playoff games, just as they did against the Cowboys.

Six postseason games in three years. That's credentials and credibility. It can only help the Seahawks in their next challenge — the NFC North champion Chicago Bears in the divisional round of the playoffs Sunday at 10 a.m.

"Chicago is a good team," said Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander. "I know that our team, we're not really worried about who we play next. We always have to go back and redefine who we are. ... Who we play against is not our concern, it's always about what can we do, and how can we get better as a group."

The Bears (13-3) enter the postseason as the NFC's No. 1 seed. One of those victories was a 37-6 drubbing of the Seahawks at Soldier Field on Oct. 1.

Don't think the Seahawks have forgotten that game. It stopped their three-game winning streak to open the season and happened without Alexander and tight end Jerramy Stevens in the lineup. It saw the Bears throw over the top of the Seahawks' secondary for big plays and Seahawks turnovers leading to Bears points. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was sacked five times.

Chicago's defense was dominant. But that was then.

"That's way behind us now," Seahawks cornerback Jordan Babineaux said. "They've changed what they do."

The Bears clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. But their defense lost some of its edge over the final weeks of the regular season, and quarterback Rex Grossman became inconsistent. That led to increased scrutiny from Chicago media and fans.

It would appear that today's Bears aren't as impressive as they were in early October. Still, expectations for them are sky high in the Windy City, and they are early 9-point favorites.

Also, Chicago hasn't proven it can win a playoff game of late. The Bears earned a first-round bye last season, only to lose in the divisional round at home to Carolina 29-21, and haven't won in the postseason since 1995.

The edge in playoff experience and familiarity is clearly with the Seahawks.

"It does matter," Hasselbeck said of that experience. "There's a lot of distractions when the playoffs come."

Playing the Bears made some roundabout sense to Hasselbeck.

"Then again, they're a very, very good team," Hasselbeck said. "You might have to be crazy to hope to play them."

Maybe not. The NFC remains a crapshoot as both wild-card games were down-to-the-wire affairs. So the Seahawks, from that standpoint, have as good a chance as anybody.

Nevertheless, the challenge ahead is daunting. The Seahawks are still affected by injury at wide receiver — Darrell Jackson felt too much pain in his sore toe to continue playing beyond the first half Saturday and D.J. Hackett has a sprained right ankle — and they might have to continue with the same depleted cornerback crew.

The defense played with heart and looked much improved, but it still gave up a long run and pass. The special teams allowed a 93-yard kickoff return. The offense sputtered until late in the game.

"These games, they're so big and they mean so much that you have to play perfect," Babineaux said.

Defensive end Joe Tafoya, a former Bear, is excited to face the team that released him after three seasons in 2004.

"They've got something to prove," Tafoya said, "but we're the defending NFC champions. Everybody's kind of counted us out because of our injury situation. ... [But] we've been there. We know what it's going to take to win the game."

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