ST. LOUIS AT SEATTLE SATURDAY,MINNESOTA AT GREEN BAY SUNDAYIN NFC WILD CARD PLAYOFFSSATURDAY, JANUARY 8
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RAMS |
SEAHAWKS |
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LEADER |
9-4 |
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STREAKS |
Past 3 |
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COACHES VS. OPP. |
Martz: 5-2 |
Holmgren: 8-6 |
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VS. COMMON OPP. |
STL: 5-7 (Arz 1-1, Atl 0-1, Buf 0-1, Car 0-1, Mia 0-1, NE 0-1, NO 0-1, NYJ 1-0, SF 2-0, TB 1-0) SEA: 8-4 (Arz 1-1, Atl 1-0, Buf 0-1, Car 1-0, Mia 1-0, NE 0-1, NO 1-0, NYJ 0-1, SF 2-0, TB 1-0) |
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PLAYOFF RECORD |
18-23 |
3-6 |
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LAST WEEK |
W 32-29 (OT) vs. Jets |
W 28-26 vs. Falcons |
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LAST GAME |
11/14/04: Seahawks 12 at Rams 23. St. Louis RB Marshall Faulk rushes for 139 yards & WR Issac Bruce catches seven passes for 104 yards. |
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LAST GAME AT SITE |
10/10/04: Rams 33, Seahawks 27 (OT). St. Louis QB Marc Bulger throws 52-yard TD pass to WR Shaun McDonald in OT as Rams erase 17-point 4th-quarter deficit. |
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LAST PLAYOFF |
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BROADCAST |
ABC (1:30 PM PT): Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire, Suzy Kolber (Field reporter). CBS Radio: Dave Sims, Jeff Bostic, Kevin Kiley (Field reporter). |
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QBs |
Bulger: 321-485-3,964(3C)-21-14-93.7 |
Hasselbeck: 279-474-3,382-22-15-83.1 |
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RBs |
M. Faulk: 195-774-4.0-3 |
Alexander: 353-1,696(2L)-4.8-16 (2L) |
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WRs |
Holt: 94(T1C)-1,372-14.6-10 |
Jackson: 87-1,199-13.8-7 |
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OFFENSE |
367.3 |
352.1 |
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TAKE/GIVE |
-24 |
+8 |
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DEFENSE |
334.6 |
351.3 |
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SACKS |
B. Fisher: 8.5 |
Okeafor: 8.5 |
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INTs |
Bulter: 5 |
Lucas: 6 (T3L) |
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PR |
McDonald: 4.8 |
Engram: 11.8 |
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KOR |
Cason: 22.1 |
Morris: 21.1 |
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PUNTING |
Stemke: 39.8 |
Walter: 38.3 |
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KICKING |
Wilkins: 89 (32/32 PAT; 19/24 FG) |
J. Brown: 109 (40/40 PAT; 23/25 FG) |
TEAMS MEET FOR 1ST TIME IN PLAYOFFS……Three of last 4 meetings between clubs decided by 6 points or less……Winning team has scored 23+ points in 7 consecutive games in series.
RAMS: MIKE MARTZ led club to playoffs for 4th time in 5 seasons as head coach. Improved career record to 53-32 (.624), becoming 3rd Rams coach with 50 wins (JOHN ROBINSON, 79; CHUCK KNOX 57)……QB MARC BULGER has 26-10 (.722) record as reg. season starter & makes 2nd career playoff start. Led club to wins vs. Eagles & Jets in final 2 weeks, as teams entered contest vs. Rams with combined 23-6 (.793) record. Posted 114.1 passer rating in last 2 wins (49-66, 675 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INT), completing 74.2 pct……RB MARSHALL FAULK has topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage in all 11 NFL seasons (774 rushing, 310 receiving). Rookie 1st-round RB STEVEN JACKSON rushed for 673 yards, 3rd-most among NFL rookies, & averaged 5.0 yards per carry with 4 TDs. Played collegiately in Pacific Northwest at Oregon State……WR ISAAC BRUCE has 4 career 100-yard receiving games in playoffs & needs 1 to tie ANDRE REED & JOHN STALLWORTH (5) for 3rd all-time, trailing all-time leader JERRY RICE (8). Posted 7th 1,000-yard season, finishing with 89 catches for 1,292 yards & 6 TDs. WR TORRY HOLT totaled 1,372 yards receiving, becoming 1st player in NFL history with 5 1,300-yard seasons in row. Posted 116 yards (7 catches, 2 TDs) last week, his 33rd 100-yard game, passing Rice (32) for 2nd-most in 1st 6 seasons all-time (RANDY MOSS, 38). WR DANE LOOKER was born in Payallup, WA & was all-state selection at Payallup High School……DE BRYCE FISHER led club in sacks for 1st time, finishing with career-high 8.5. DE LEONARD LITTLE has 3.0 sacks in his last 4 playoff games. Second-year LB PISA TINOISAMOA led club in tackles for 2nd year in row, finishing with 140……CB JERAMETRIUS BUTLER posted career-best 5 INTs & is 1st Ram to lead club in INTs in consecutive seasons since NOLAN CROMWELL (1979-81).
SEAHAWKS: Club was penalized 79 times in ’04, fewest in NFL. Offense had 58.5 red zone TD pct (53 trips, 31 TDs), 3rd in NFC……MIKE HOLMGREN led his club to playoffs for 9th time in 13 years as head coach……QB MATT HASSELBECK starts 2nd career playoff game. Has tied franchise record with 11 career 300-yard passing games in regular season. Passed for 305 yards in playoff debut vs. GB last year. RB SHAUN ALEXANDER finished with franchise-record 1,696 rushing yards & NFL-best 20 TDs. Totaled 1,866 yards from scrimmage (170 receiving), 4th in NFL. Made playoff debut vs. Packers last year & scored 3 TDs. Seeks to become 1st player in NFL history with 3 TDs in consecutive playoff games……WR DARRELL JACKSON finished with franchise single-season record 87receptions (1,199 yards). Was 15th WR selected in ’00 NFL Draft & leads class with 340 catches, 5,007 yards & 34 TDs. WR JERRY RICE has played in NFL record 28 playoff games. Is all-time playoff leader with 22 TDs. His 151 career playoff receptions for 2,245 yards are 64 & 930 more than MICHAEL IRVIN, who ranks 2nd in both categories (87 for 1,315)…… Third-year TE JERRAMY STEVENS posted career highs with 31 catches & 349 yards……Defense tied for 3rd in NFL with 23 INTs……DE CHIKE OKEAFOR led club with career-high 8.5 sacks while DE ANTONIO COCHRAN added career-best 6.5……LB CHAD BROWN had 3.0 sacks in ’96 WC game vs. Colts (w/Pitt), tied for 3rd-most in playoff history……Club had 3 players – CB KEN LUCAS (6), CB MARCUS TRUFANT (5) & rookie 2nd-round S MICHAEL BOULWARE (5) – with 5+ INTs for 2nd time in franchise history (1984)……K JOSH BROWN connected on 92 pct. (23 of 25) of FG attempts, 2nd-best pct. in NFL.
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VIKINGS |
PACKERS |
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LEADER |
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44-42-1 |
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STREAKS |
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Past 3 |
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COACHES VS. OPP. |
Tice: 2-4 |
Sherman: 7-3 |
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VS. COMMON OPP. |
MIN: 7-5 (Chi 1-1, Dal 1-0, Det 2-0, Hou 1-0, Ind 0-1, Jax 1-0, NYG 0-1, Phi 0-1, Ten 1-0, Was 0-1) GB: 6-6 (Chi 1-1, Dal 1-0, Det 2-0, Hou 1-0, Ind 0-1, Jax 0-1, NYG 0-1, Phi 0-1, Ten 0-1, Was 1-0) |
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PLAYOFF RECORD |
17-23 |
24-13 |
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LAST WEEK |
L 21-18 at Redskins |
W 31-14 at Bears |
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LAST GAME |
12/24/04: Packers 34 at Vikings 31. Green Bay QB Brett Favre passes for 365 yards & 3 TDs & K Ryan Longwell connects on 29-yard FG as time expires to lift Packers to victory. |
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LAST GAME AT SITE |
11/14/04: Packers 34, Vikings 31. Green Bay QB Brett Favre throws 4 TD passes to 4 different receivers & Ryan Longwell kicks 33-yard FG as time expires for win. |
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LAST PLAYOFF |
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BROADCAST |
FOX (3:30 PM CT): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Cris Collinsworth, Pam Oliver (Field reporter) CBS Radio: Brad Sham, Jack Ham, Kenny Albert (Field reporter). |
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QBs |
Culpepper : 379-548-4,717(1L)-39(2L)-11-110.9 (2L) |
Favre : 346-540-4,088(2C)-30(3C)-17-92.4 |
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RBs |
O. Smith: 124-544-4.4-2 |
Green: 259-1,163-4.5-7 |
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WRs |
Wiggins (TE): 71-705-9.9-4 |
Walker: 89-1,382(3L)-15.5-12 |
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OFFENSE |
396.2 |
396.8 |
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TAKE/GIVE |
+1 |
-14 |
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DEFENSE |
368.4 |
346.3 |
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SACKS |
K. Williams : 12.0 |
Gbaja-Biamila : 13.5 |
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INTs |
Winfield: 3 |
Sharper: 4 |
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PR |
Burleson : 8.6 |
Chatman : 7.7 |
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KOR |
Campbell: 21.7 |
Thurman: 19.7 |
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PUNTING |
D. Bennett: 39.3 |
Barker: 40.1 |
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KICKING |
Andersen: 99 (45/45 PAT; 18/22 FG) |
Longwell: 120 (48/48 PAT; 24/28 FG) |
AFTER 87 REGULAR-SEASON GAMES, clubs meet in playoffs for 1st time……All-time points differential between teams is 121 points (GB, 1,798-1,677), with avg. margin of victory of 1.4 points per game……Last 5 meetings decided by 5 points or less.
VIKINGS: Club makes 1st playoff appearance since 2000 season……In 3rd full season as head coach, MIKE TICE advances to playoffs for 1st time……Offense avgs 6.4 yards per play, 4.7 yards per rush & 282.3 pass yards per game, each 2nd in NFL……QB DAUNTE CULPEPPER totaled club record & career highs with 4,717 pass yards & 39 TD passes. Posted NFL best 133.4 3rd down rating (93 of 134, 1,391 yards, 19 TDs vs. 3 INT), helping Vikes convert 52.3 pct. on 3rd down (102 of 195), 1st in NFL. Had 12 4th quarter TD passes, tied for most in NFL. Converted NFC-leading 8 of 8 3rd-&-1 rushing att……Second-year RB ONTERRIO SMITH led club in rushing with 544 yards & added 394 receiving (36 catches). RB MICHAEL BENNETT has 3 career 100-yard games vs. GB, his most vs. any opponent. Rushed for 92 yards & added 67 rec. yards (3 catches, 1 TD) in last meeting……In 6 career playoff games, WR RANDY MOSS avgs. 4.7 catches, 100.3 yards & 1.2 TDs (28 catches, 602 yards, 7 TDs), posting 3 100-yard games. Has 20 TDs in last 18 games. In 13 games vs. GB, has 66 catches for 1,243 yards & 12 TDs. Second-year WR NATE BURLESON led club with 1,006 receiving yards (68 catches). Tied for NFL lead with 7 TD catches on 3rd down……TE JERMAINE WIGGINS finished 3rd among NFC TEs with 71 catches (705 yards). Saw action in Super Bowls XXXVI (NE) & XXXVIII (Car)…… Second-year DT KEVIN WILLIAMS (12.0) & DE LANCE JOHNSTONE (11.0) are 1 of 4 sets of teammates with 10.0+ sacks. Williams has 6.0 sacks in last 6 games. Rookie 1st-round DE KENECHI UDEZE tied for 3rd among NFL rookies with 5.0 sacks……K MORTEN ANDERSEN has FG in 9 playoff games in row & needs 1 for 2nd-longest such streak all-time (TONI FRITSCH, 13).
PACKERS: Head coach MIKE SHERMAN has led club to 3 consecutive division titles……Club has posted 400 yards in 10 of 16 games, surpassing total from 2001-03 (9)……QB BRETT FAVRE posted 30 TD passes, his 8th career 30-TD pass season, most in NFL history. Has 33 career playoff TD passes & needs 2 to join JOE MONTANA (45) as only players in NFL history with 35+. Looks to extend NFL record of 15 consecutive playoff games with TD pass. Topped 4,000 passing yards (4,088) for 4th time, tying WARREN MOON (4) for 3rd-most 4,000-yard seasons all-time. Has 4,686 playoff pass yards & needs 279 to pass JOHN ELWAY (4,964) for 2nd & 314 to join Montana (5,772) as only players with 5,000 career playoff pass yards……RB AHMAN GREEN rushed for 1,163 yards, his 5th consecutive 1,000-yard season, tying JIM TAYLOR for most in club history. Has 436 playoff rush yards & needs 73 to pass Taylor (508) for 3rd in team annals…WR JAVON WALKER had 12 TD catches, most by Packer since ANTONIO FREEMAN in ’98 (14). Led NFL with 31 catches & 518 yards on 3rd down, helping club to 47.3 3rd down conversion rate (98 of 207), 2nd in NFL. WR DONALD DRIVER posted career highs with 84 catches & 1,208 yards……TE BUBBA FRANKS had 7 TDs, most among NFC TEs. Has 2 TDs in 5 career playoff games……DE KABEER GBAJA-BIAMILA has 13.5 sacks, becoming 1st Packer with 4 10-sack years in row…..Second-year LB NICK BARNETT led club in tackles for 2nd consecutive season, finishing with 160……S DARREN SHARPER has 7 career defensive TDs, including 3 in ’04, tying HERB ADDERLEY (7) for most in team history…….K RYAN LONGWELL led club in scoring for 8th time (120 points), passing DON HUTSON for club record.