NFL Week 12 Picks: Redskins @ Seahawks

Washington Redskins @ Seattle Seahawks

Sunday, Nov. 23 - 4:15 PM

The Redskins' slide continued last week as they lost to the Cowboys 14-10 at home. While the biggest story out of Sunday night was the return of QB Tony Romo and the breakout fourth quarter by RB Marion Barber, the subplot of a Redskin let down was there too.

Through the first eight weeks, Redskins QB Jason Campbell was fantastic. He did not throw an interception and was getting sacked an average of two times per game.

These last two games, though, have been a different story. Campbell has thrown three interceptions and been sacked ten times-he has looked like a completely different quarterback.

Coincidentally, over these last two games RB Clinton Portis has not been 100% and has only carried the ball about half a much as he did during the first eight weeks of the season. Not only that, Portis' productivity has dropped considerably. He was averaging just over five yards per carry for the first eight games, and over the last two has only averaged 4.25.

Leading WR Santana Moss has been hindered by a hamstring recently as well.

All of this has put a lot more pressure on Campbell, and, unfortunately, he has not responded well to it.

The Seahawks' season has been a bust due to injury, with key players like QB Matt Hasselbeck, WR Deion Branch, and WR Bobby Engram limited. But being sidelined for five weeks with a bulging disk, Hasselbeck returned to the field last week in a losing effort.

Maybe it was just rust, but Hesselbeck only threw for 170 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. The three interceptions were the most he's thrown in one game since coming back from injury Week 12 of the 2006 season, where he threw three interceptions against the Packers.

The other good news is that Deion Branch returned this past weekend as well and caught four passes for 54 yards. While this is not that impressive for a primary wide receiver, it was good to see that after playing only one quarter this year he managed to play the whole game.

With Branch back this week and Bobby Engram playing the way he has, the good news is that Hasselbeck will have two good targets and Engram will probably shed some of the double coverage he has faced. The bad news is that the Redskins are the tenth best pass defense in terms of passing yards allowed. Let's look at some of the other numbers too.

Points Per Game
Redskins Offense vs. Seahawks Defense - 18.1 (27th) vs. 25.7 (26th)
Seahawks Offense vs. Redskins Defense - 19.0 (26th) vs. 18.2 (7th)

Rush Yards Per Game
Redskins Offense vs. Seahawks Defense - 139.4 (5th) vs. 115.5 (21st)
Seahawks Offense vs. Redskins Defense - 108.3 (20th) vs. 84.3 (5th)

Pass Yards Per Game
Redskins Offense vs. Seahawks Defense - 296.9 (20th) vs. 265.2 (31st)
Seahawks Offense vs. Redskins Defense - 145.5 (31st) vs. 192.1 (10th)

Total Yards Per Game
Redskins Offense vs. Seahawks Defense - 336.3 (13th) vs. 380.7 (28th)
Seahawks Offense vs. Redskins Defense - 253.8 (31th) vs. 276.4 (4th)

The Redskins have had some great games this year, but in the games they have lost, they have really lost. In their four losses they have averaged 10 points, whereas in the six wins they have averaged 23.5 points.

The Seahawks have been all over the place, but with Hasselbeck, Engram, and Branch playing together last week for basically the first time all season, I think that their rhythm will be more in order.

With the mess of a running game that Seattle has right now, though, I do not think that they can overcome a top ten defense.

Redskins over Seahawks