Fightin' chance: 8 playoff teams battle for a shot at NFL's big 4

With the NFL's top seeds enjoying a bye, the battle to upset them gets under way today. Remember, the last two Super Bowl champions have come through wild card weekend, so here's my take on how the postseason will go:

Redskins-Seahawks

The weekend gets started with Washington traveling to Seattle. Unfortunately, Seattle plays in the NFC Worst, a division that would lose to most BCS schools. Still, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has shown brilliance at times and coach Mike Holmgren is no slouch when it comes to taking teams deep into the postseason.

The Redskins, on the other hand, are one of the hottest teams in the league, having won four straight, including a rout over archrival Dallas last Sunday. They also boast Chris Cooley, an ex-Utah State Aggie, who's good for several catches per game as well as a TD once in a while. They'll also be reminded each time they tackle an opponent because the 21 sticker honors murdered teammate Sean Taylor. As much as I want to pick the 'Skins, I'll have to give Seattle a slight edge with home field and the better QB. Seattle moves on next week against the Packers by edging Washington 24-23.

Jaguars-Steelers

The Jacksonville-Pittsburgh matchup is easily the best of the wild-card contests. The Jags handed the Steelers their only home loss this season on an ugly night on an ugly

turf. Pittsburgh also boasts Ben Roethlisberger, who before his motorcycle accident and appendectomy in 2006, was easily one of the top three QBs in the league. Since then, he's tapered off some and is only a mere mortal now. Jacksonville's David Garrard, on the other hand, has had a sterling year and directs a balanced offense that has the rest of the AFC wary of facing these guys. Despite Pittsburgh's local connection with a couple of former BYU players on its roster, I'm picking the Jaguars to sneak by and throw a bit of fear into the Patriots' perfect season plans. Jaguars 24, Steelers 17

Giants-Bucs

Eli Manning plays in spurts. Sometimes he's good and sometimes he's downright awful. But lately his Giants have had it together and the G-men look decent, if not threatening. The Bucs, meanwhile, have been mostly sleepwalking into the playoffs. QB Jeff Garcia has done a decent job taking care of the ball, but Jon Gruden's offense is less than inspiring and his defense is, well, suspect. The Giants survived a tough slog through the NFC East to get where they are, and with a single ex-Utah State player on Tampa's roster, the Giants should roll on to play division rival Dallas next week. Giants 31, Buccaneers 19.

Titans-Chargers