DENVER -- It took a Champ to knock off the champs, a crazy
100-yard sprint by Denver's star cornerback that helped the Broncos
stop their long streak of playoff futility and bring the New
England dynasty to an end.
Huffing, puffing, dashing down the sideline, Champ Bailey got
caught and knocked down at the 1-yard line Saturday night. But his
interception of Tom Brady did the damage, setting up the
game-changing touchdown in Denver's 27-13 victory over the
defending Super Bowl champions.
"It was a great play by me," Bailey said. "I made the play,
but it was something we'd talked about the whole game."
The first playoff game in the history of Invesco Field resulted
in Denver's first postseason win since the 1998 Super Bowl, John
Elway's last game.
Next week in the AFC championship game, the Broncos will play
the winner of Sunday's meeting between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh.
This game also marked the end of the Patriots' shot at history.
Trying to become the first team to win three straight Super
Bowls, the Patriots (11-7) simply didn't have enough to overcome
Denver's steady play, a few bad breaks or their five turnovers.
That was one fewer than they had during their entire,
record-setting 10-game playoff winning streak that ended at the
hands of the Broncos (14-3).
Jake Plummer finished 15-for-26 for 197 yards with the touchdown
and one interception, a nice play by Asante Samuel that led to New
England's first field goal.
And while the Denver quarterback won't be mistaken for Elway, or
even Brady -- who threw for 341 yards in defeat -- that was kind of
the point: As has been proven all year, Plummer doesn't have to do
it all for the Broncos to win.<
^Seahawks 20, Redskins 10=
SEATTLE -- Minus the NFL MVP, the Seattle Seahawks still
found a way to finally win a playoff game.
Despite losing Shaun Alexander to a concussion, the Seahawks
ended their 21-year postseason drought. Matt Hasselbeck threw for
one touchdown and ran for another, and Seattle advanced to the NFC
title game by beating the Washington Redskins 20-10.
The Seahawks ended the longest run without a postseason victory
for any NFL team -- they had been 0-6 since their last playoff win
on Dec. 22, 1984.
Now, Seattle will be home next week against the winner of
Sunday's game in Chicago between the Bears and the Carolina
Panthers. Alexander's status was uncertain.
Alexander, who scored an NFL-record 28 touchdowns this season
and led the league with 1,880 yards rushing, lost a fumble without
being hit at the Washington 11 on Seattle's opening drive. He was
then hurt with 4:29 left in the first quarter and did not return.
Without Alexander, this became Hasselbeck's game.
Not only did he complete 16-of-26 passes for 215 yards and a
29-yard second-quarter touchdown pass to Darrell Jackson, but he
scrambled around the right side for 6-yard TD in the third quarter.
The Seahawks (14-3) were helped a Washington offense that for
most of the game was inept for the second straight week.
The Redskins (11-7) had their six-game winning streak stopped.
They had 140 yards in the first three quarters after getting a
total of just 120 in last week's win at Tampa Bay.
Washington's last chance ended in the final minute when Mark
Brunell's desperation fourth-down pass for Santana Moss was batted
down by safety Michael Boulware in the end zone.<