NFL playoff breakdown

The annual question of which is preferable will play itself out right away in the NFC playoffs.

The Redskins had to play all out in their final game and the Giants chose to play that way. Their opponents, Seattle and Tampa Bay, eased their way into the playoffs.

So the wild-card round in the NFC next week might be a test of whether it's better to have momentum or be rested going into the playoffs.

In the AFC, Jacksonville will be at Pittsburgh coming off losses in which each team played less than its best. Tennessee's 16-10 win in Indianapolis, where the Colts rested most of their stars for much of the game, sent the Titans to San Diego for a playoff game and eliminated Cleveland.

The four top-seeded teams will be off until the second week of the playoffs: unbeaten New England and Indianapolis in the AFC; Dallas and Green Bay in the NFC.

The wild-card round opens at 4:30 p.m Saturday with Washington at Seattle. It's the first case of momentum vs. rest.

The Seahawks, the NFC West champions, were already locked into the third seed in the NFC when they went to Atlanta. So they rested offensive starters, played a bland defense and lost 44-41 to the Falcons, who had only three wins previously.

Now the Seahawks face a team that needed a win Sunday to get in and got it by beating Dallas 27-6.

Washington has won four straight and seems inspired since the shooting death of safety Sean Taylor.

One surprise has been the play of 36-year-old quarterback Todd Collins, who took over when Jason Campbell was hurt against Chicago and led the team to wins over the Bears, Giants and Cowboys after sitting for most of the past 10 seasons.

That momentum goes against Seattle's late lethargy: two losses in its last three games after clinching the division three weeks ago.

"We wanted to win the football game, but we got health out of it and that was a big plus," coach Mike Holmgren said after Sunday's loss.

The Giants played one of their best games Saturday in losing 38-35 to the Patriots.

If the Giants have momentum, the Bucs, NFC South champions, are healthier. They rested a lot of starters in Sunday's loss to Carolina.

In the AFC, Jacksonville plays Saturday at Pittsburgh. Neither team played hard in its finale.

The Jaguars are the club that higher-seeded teams don't want to play. They beat the Steelers 29-22 Dec.16 in Pittsburgh, part of a run of six wins in seven games that ended Sunday when they played backups and lost in Houston.

"Bottom line is our approach today was to be smart," coach Jack Del Rio said. "We earned that right."

The Steelers also sat starters in a loss to the Ravens but that didn't tell their whole story in terms of health. They lost their star running back, Willie Parker, with a broken leg suffered Dec.20 against St. Louis.

As for San Diego, one of its victories in a six-game season-ending winning streak was 23-17 in overtime at the Titans.

Despite that close game, this isn't a good matchup for the Titans, whose 301 points was the lowest of any of the playoff teams as Vince Young struggled in his second season and went out of Sunday night's game with a leg injury.

[Last modified December 30, 2007, 23:49:49]