Saturday, January 08, 2011

NFL Playoffs: No Super Bowl Rematch: Saints, Colts Fall

The National Football League Playoffs got under way with two games on Saturday.

At Seattle:

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw for four touchdowns and Marshawn Lynch ran 67 yards for the game-clinching score with 3:22 remaining as the Seattle Seahawks became the first team with a losing regular-season record to win a playoff game, 41-36 at home, in an NFC opening round contest,  over the defending Super Bowl champions New Orleans Saints.  The Seahawks will play next weekend in a divisional playoff game, either at Chicago (if Green Bay wins at Philadelphia this coming Sunday) or Atlanta (if the Eagles beat the visiting Packers).

At Indianapolis:

LaDainian Tomlinson ran for two touchdowns and Nick Folk connected on a 32-yard field goal as time expired as the New York Jets got their revenge for losing last year's AFC title game, beating the Indianoplis Colts 17-16 on the road.  The Jets will visit the New England Patriots in a divisional playoff game at Foxborough, Massachusetts next Sunday.

The defeats suffered by the Saints and Colts marked the first time that both of the previous year's Super Bowl combatants were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs.

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