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Seattle Defeats Washington (35-12) – I called this one incorrectly, although I did say Seattle should win the game, I still put my chips behind Washington. Like most of the country, I saw the emotion and momentum they had and assumed it would carry over into the playoffs.

WRONG!

The Seahawks defense was absolutely on fire. I’ve seen them play with this intensity and effectiveness before, but it was against a lowly San Francisco 49ers team which caused me to chalk it off as bad play from S.F. I underestimated the “12th man” aspect which disrupted the flow of Washington all game long. Once the ’skins were rattled, Patrick Kerney and Julian Peterson went to work.

I’ll accept the egg on my face for this one, Seattle is great at Qwest field, no matter the competition.

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Jacksonville defeats Pittsburgh (31-29) - My prediction was pretty much spot on.

This game will be close, but I’m giving it to Jacksonville. The only thing that worries me about the Jaguars is if they can finally get over the hump and show up in a BIG game.

The knock against Jacksonville was always that they lacked character when times got rough, or as Chris Berman says “YEAH, BUT??“. In the past, anytime you really put the pressure on the Jags in crunch time they would inevitably fold, that didn’t happen tonight. I finally believe they’re over the hump and ready to rumble against the Colts or Patriots. I honestly believe the Jags have a better shot at beating the Patriots than they do Indy. New England doesn’t have the kind of defense that can stifle David Garrard and Maurice Jones Drew, but Indianapolis does.

Side Note: I was SO annoyed seeing Hines Ward drag a defender 5 feet by the face mask and STILL get a defensive pass interference call.