Washington: There’s not a lot to talk about here, which makes it fortunate that the Redskins are coached by the legendary Joe Gibbs, who at least gives the media someone to write about. Their quarterback is the aging veteran Mark Brunell, a competent field general despite his poor showing in the wild-card win over the Bucs. The Redskins, like all good NFC East teams, would prefer to run first, and Clinton Portis can be a force. Wideout Santana Moss is a dangerous big-play receiver and returner. Linebackers Marcus Washington and Lemar Marshall lead the defense in tackles, end Phillip Daniels is the primary pass rusher, and Marshall also leads in interceptions with four.

Seattle: Seattle was the best regular-season team in the NFC, largely because of Shaun Alexander, who led the league in rushing with 1,880 yards and set a league record with 28 touchdowns, 27 of which came on the ground. Alexander isn’t a big pass-receiving threat, but with the ground game he provides, the Seahawks don’t need to do a lot in the air. Matt Hasselbeck is an efficient quarterback who threw for 24 touchdowns with just nine interceptions. Bobby Engram is Hasselbeck’s leading target, but not by a lot; the Hawks spread it around fairly evenly to Joe Jurevicius, Jerramy Stevens and Darrell Jackson, now healthy, as well. The Seahawks defense can get after you and had an impressive total of 50 sacks on the year, led by end Rocky Bernard’s 8.5 and linebacker Leroy Hill’s 7.5. Rookie linebacker Lofa Tatupu from USC has been an impact player on defense and leads the team in tackles.
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Redskins win if ...
As luck would have it, they have a template, having beaten the Hawks 20-17 in overtime back on Oct. 2. The key that day was 141 yards rushing, 90 by Portis, and just one turnover as Brunell went 20-for-36, two touchdowns and one interception. That same formula should work again: rush the ball, don’t make mistakes, and hope their kicker misses the game winner. If they want to be sure of winning, scoring two touchdowns off turnovers, as they did in the wild-card win over the Bucs, would provide the guarantee.
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Patriots: They’re all getting to be household names, which is what happens when you win two straight Super Bowls and three out of four. Quarterback Tom Brady has carried this team all year and continues to do so. Corey Dillon leads a modest running game, but the Patriots are primarily a passing team. Deion Branch and David Givens are the top receivers, but Brady spreads it around as well as anyone. In goal-line situations, linebacker Mike Vrabel is a dangerous target working out of the tight-end position. Defensively, linebackers Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi and Willie McGinest always seem to make big plays; end Richard Seymour is often the one helping them. In close games, no one’s better at pressure field goals than Adam Vinatieri.

Broncos: All eyes will be on quarterback Jake Plummer, who’s always had a strong arm, but, until this year, never used it very wisely. Plummer’s touchdowns are down from 27 last year to 17 this year, but his interceptions have dropped from 20 to 7. The result has been the best year of his career and the second seed in the AFC. But now the games really count and coach Mike Shanahan hasn’t won a playoff game since John Elway retired with the second of his back-to-back Super Bowl trophies. Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell share the duties at running back and combined for nearly 2,000 yards. Rod Smith, a 12th-year veteran, is the go-to receiver. Defensively, the Broncos don’t strike fear into quarterbacks –- at least not physical fear; they had just 28 sacks on the year. But Champ Bailey is a premier cornerback who picked off eight passes in a year in which he missed two games. Former Buc safety John Lynch has added needed toughness to the defense, as well.

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Steelers: The Steelers are masters at taking control of a game on the ground and mixing in a very efficient passing game led by second-year quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Willie Parker is the featured running back, and, when the Steelers need short yardage, they turn to the Bus, Jerome Bettis, who is playing the final games of a Hall of Fame career. Bettis has nine of the team’s 25 rushing touchdowns. Of the 21 passing TDs, premier wideout Hines Ward has 11 and Heath Miller, a quality tight end, has six. Antwaan Randle El is a big-play receiver who can also break a punt return. Defensively, the Steelers feature stout linebacking, led by James Farrior, Larry Foote, and Joey Porter, who also leads the team in sacks with 10.5.

Colts: It’s not all Peyton Manning; it just seems that way. Manning threw 28 touchdowns with just 10 interceptions to lead Indy to the top seed in the AFC. As big a star as Manning is, everybody will be watching coach Tony Dungy, whose son, James, committed suicide just before Christmas. How he is able to focus and how the team rallies around him will determine how far they go. Marvin Harrison is one of the best wideouts in the league, and fellow wideout Reggie Wayne actually caught more passes than Harrison. Edgerrin James is the featured back, and he’s one of the most versatile in the league. The difference in the Colts this year is defense. Ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis combined for 22.5 sacks this year. Gary Brackett, the middle linebacker, leads the team in tackles.