the playoffs. the gang are back in new york as well to talk about this one. they will preview wild card saturday. the seahawks are the nfc west champions. back after these messages from your local nbc station. .

welcome to the wendy's postgame report. here is bob costas. >> for the first time in a full season, a playoff qualifier has a sub.500 record. the seattle seahawks who lost 7 of their previous 9 and three-point underdog against a rams team had beaten them 20-3 earlier in the season and they make a defense stand and win the game 16-6 and go on to the playoffs and rams had 13 possessions tonight. nine of them ended in punts and seven were three and out. another late in the game onn i.n.t. and they couldn't do anything at all against an inspired seahawk defense. schedule is all set for wild card weekend next saturday on nbc. the playoffs begin at 4:30 with the saints here in seattle

against the seattle. at 8:00 p.m. eastern time, peyton manning and the colts host the jets in a rematch of last season's afc championship game. on sunday, the ravens, who were 12-4 for the year, will be in kansas city for the 1:00 p.m. game on cbs. chiefs lost today to the raiders and dropped to the fourth seed. at 4:30 on fox the packers and eagles from philadelphia. both of those teams finished the season at 10-6. right now at qwest field, andrea kremer is down on the field with charlie whitehurst and pete carroll. >> andrea: you just pulled your whole team together there. what did you say to them, coach? >> just we get together at the 50 after the win tonight and everybody knew it could happen and believed in it and thrilled we were able to pull this altogether on the last night of the season. >> andrea: first team with a losing record to win a division. what does it say about the seahawks? >> i like doing things that haven't done done before and this is one of them. when it came down to it the guys

made a great game and we won tonight. >> andrea: what did you do defensively to shut them out of the end zone? >> the front seven played great and got around the quarterback and make it hard on him and really a total effort by all of those guys and playing great on defense tonight. >> andrea: what do you say about your quarterback here charlie whitehur whitehurst? >> so proud of him and big deal and big stage for him. so proud of matt for trying to get back tonight and great we didn't have to play him. charlie stepped up and did it. congratulations. >> andrea: thanks. coach, appreciate it. four years sitting and waiting in san diego. second career start. how did you do this tonight? put the seahawks in the playoffs, charlie? >> it was a team effort. the defense was incredible tonight. we made the plays offensively when we had to. we persevered all season and it culminated here tonight and it feels great. feels great. >> andrea: you came in with a 32nd ranked run offense and yet how much credibility did you get from the rushing attack? they came through for you. >> down the stretch, really relied on the guys up front and put it on marshawn and leon and justin and won us the game.

defense and being able to hold the ball there late in the fourth quarter and won us the game and i'm so happy for the team and we're going to the playoffs. feels great. >> andrea: thanks so much. appreciate it. skeds they take on the world champion saints next saturday on nbc, bob. >> the question then will be who gets the start at quarterback? another six days or so to get healthy for matt hasselbeck. charlie whitehurst sharp and opening touchdown drive and decent numbers. let's go to tony dungy in new york. seattle as we know limped down the stretch but they had enough to get into the playoffs at 7-9. what did you make of their performance tonight? >> well, i thought they did a great job and pete carroll and that offensive coordinator really setting up some things for charlie whitehurst. this was a different offense than they ran with matt hasselbeck and ran charlie around and let him throw the ball. as you said, they ran the ball a

little bit more effectively, but whitehurst did some things that i don't think st. louis was ready for and that was a big part of it. >> week 11 in new orleans than the saints defeated the seahawks 34-19. this time seahawks are home for the playoff game. do they have a legitimate chance against the defending champs? >> they do. a few things going against the saints. first of all, playing on a saturday and making that long trip across the country on a short week. that is harder than you think. secondly, now they have got to prepare for two quarterbacks. is whitehurst or matt hasselbeck going to play? thirdly, you cannot overestimate if you've never been there before, the noise in that stadium. st. louis was not able to move the ball at all today because of that. and the energy that that defense plays with, the crowd noise and makes it tougher to pass protect and these are things that are going to impact new orleans. i still expect the saints to win but it's not going to be as easy as people think. >> tony, thanks.

mike florio, we turn to him now. mike, every season there is talk about parody in the nfl and new teams making it to the playoffs. sure enough, there are five new teams in this year's postseason. how important do you think that is overall for the league's continued popularity? >> bob, i think it's a big part of it because every off-season the nfl can sell hopes to every team. your team didn't make it to the playoffs this year? that's okay because you have a chance 50% turnover rate each and every year. five of the 12 teams are new to the playoffs and probably see it next year. historically every year since expanding to 12 teams in the postseason we have seen roughly a 50% turnover and every off-season when you're 0-0, you can say, we had a bad year last year, but maybe this year we can have a great year. >> even for brett favre it appears this time it's final. his playing career is over. is there any doubt at all that he is a first ballot hall of famer? >> bob, i think he definitely will be but the difference is if

he had retired after the 2007 season, i guess more accurately if he had stayed retired he would have been 100% no questions asked, everybody votes for him into the hall of fame on his first try. based on these past three years, i think people who have votes that maybe vote against. maybe want to see him wait a year or even though he holds all of the records i think some people who say i'm not ready to make it 100% unanimous for brett favre to get in. >> would they want to make him wait a year because one of those years with the jets was only pretty good? another was nearly spectacular? within a play of the super bowl and this year was terrible on the field or will it be because of off the field touch, the hamlet act, will i retire or won't i retire and then the scandal with the jets? is it that or because of two of the last three seasons were not great seasons by his standards? >> i think it's everything combined. there would be a vague sense by some of the voters that maybe he should have to wait one year but i still think there will be enough that vote yes that he gets in on his first try. >> get to today's key injuries. saints got knocked around a bit

today against the bucs and casualties including malcolm jenkins. >> jenkins has a knee injury and going to have an mri tomorrow. the thinking more concern about the kneecap than any of the ligaments. the saints have to turn around on a quick week. they have a lot of injuries to deal with and play in six days so that is one of the challenges that the saints face. also the baltimore ravens playing next weekend, safety ed reed has a rib injury. unclear what his status is. left tackle michael oher was injured with a knee and coach john harbaugh said after the game he could have come back if he had to. presumably he is ready to go next weekend. >> mike, thanks. profootballtalklive, mike's daily show premieres this tuesday at noon. one more note. looking ahead two weeks into the postseason, the nfl has announced the dates and times for games in the divisional round as well, although we only on know one half of the pairings here because of the byes. the steelers will host the first game on saturday january 15th.

and the falcons will host the prime time game. opponents yet to be determined. on sunday the bears host a 1:00 p.m. game at soldier field and patriots try to take their first steps towards super bowl xlv as they play at home. we wrap things up next from seattle after this. the seahawks are in the playoffs. . to introduce wendy's natural-cut fries with sea salt, we've set up a human chain from coast to coast... so taste our best fries ever, and pass 'em on! pass 'em on. share the news! we only use whole russet potatoes and sprinkle 'em with sea salt for a taste as real as it gets! oh, cmon! cmon! cmon! finally, a fry worth sharing! ♪ you know when it's real ♪ share the fries!

tonight's game, whitehurst getting the start. fifth year in the league. he did a great job. sam bradford, everything was short and then the interception at the end, the killer. the seahawks, all of a sudden, found a rushing game, last in

the league in rushing. seattle 7-9 and nfc west champions, on to the playoffs. the seahawks want you to know for the folks around here especially, tickets available for the playoffs next week, you can visit seahawks.com or the phone number you can call is 1-800-745-3000. seahawks playing here on saturday. football pros.com. cris collinsworth new hat you have to put it on here. it's funny. because you summed it up perfectly. we were talking about this on the pregame show. the rams are kind of moving like this as the season ends. the seahawks have lost 7 out of 9 coming in. in those games, they were giving up like 35 and 40 points a game and, tonight, the defense does its job. they run the ball. coach say play good defense, get critical turnover or two and they got one at the end. run the ball and away you go to

the playoffs at 7-9. >> next in looking back and it's easy in hindsight. you wonder if they had had to do all over again, talking about the rams if they wouldn't feed steven jackson the ball a little bit more. he had 11 carries tonight. this is a seahawk defense that clearly been struggling trying to stop the run. he just never really got the opportunity to take the game on his back and try and win it. >> you heard what tony said. tony dungy about seattle and coming here to play the game. and the injuries that new orleans has and the short week and all of that. new orleans will be a pretty large favorite and seattle will be a significant home underdog. but it's the nfl! anything could happen. >> you know, the injury to malcolm jenkins. whether when we were visiting with the saints and some of their coaches, they say he has been their best defensive player this year. so that is not an insignificant injury at all, plus i fully expect to see matt matt hasselbeck play.

and gregg williams and the pressure he wants to bring. i'm not sure you want charlie whitehurst out there, although he was brilliant tonight. i think if hasselbeck is ready, he'll be the starr starter. >> let's take a look to our game after the game here early on nbc with tom hammond and mike mayock doing the call. we go to the indianapolis. jets/colts what do you think off the top of my head? >> i watched that game tape tape several times. i thought jets were one cornerback short. they could not match up with all of the receivers put now you have the opposite. you have cromartie now as a part of the jets and you got all of the colts receivers hurt. so defensively any way the jets are a much better match going in there this time than a season ago. >> tuesday night football, sunday. you went to the sun bowl to watch austin play. go home and wash your clothes, would you? i'll see you in indianapolis on saturday. new orleans and seattle get

things started on wild card game on saturday. seattle on its way to the playoffs. until next saturday, wild card saturday, al michaels and cris collinsworth and andrea kremer. our entire nbc sports crew says good night from seattle. . -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com jooirks [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> the ravens with their 12th win this season now prepared to hit the road to take on the kansas city chiefs. good evening. the ravengs didn't take the division -- ravens didn't take the decision title but they do

go to the postseason. last play, quarterback carson palmer throws the ball away, ravens win it 13-7. our reporter caught up with excited fans celebrating today's win. >> the city is buzzing with excitement and ravens fans are bleeding purple pride heading into next week's playoffs. it started immediately after fans poured out of the stadium. >> let's go ravens! 2011 super bowl! >> these fans didn't let a 2 1/2 hour drive stop them. >> probably 20 or 22 of us come up from cambridge, maryland, every game. good time up, good time back. >> it was exciting to watch them dominate the ben falls like we thought they should. >> it guaranteed their spot in the playoffs and gave 2357bs more reason to -- and gave fans more reason to chair. mother's bar still rocking after the game. fans reflected on their favorite

moments. >> beating the steelers at home field, that's got to be number one. >> we've had a good time this year, we like to see the offense get it together. we're all concerned about the offense. other than that, had a good time. 12-4 is a good season. >> mary is excited about the playoff bid but cautiously optimistic. >> hopefully they pass the first playoff game. with flacco's history we only have gone to the first game, hopefully we go past that. >> don't worry, baby, you'll get the super bowl touchdown, don't worry. >> super bowl, baby. >> super bowl, baby. ravens number one, going to win the super bowl, no doubt about it. >> if the ravens continue their winning streak, the super bowl may be in sight. on federal hill, wbal tv 11 news. >> and our facebook friends did not hold back when it came to their opinions about the ravens' postseason future.

here's what some had to say. one says if they play like today, not far at all. scott says if the offense is fully utilized they're a different team. they scare a lot of teams in the affect. super bowl is obtainable. bill says, one and done. sorry, but we won't go past the first round if things don't change fast. jerry and pete are back after the newscast to take a look at the day's game and what the future holds for the ravens. a new year and new coach for the university of maryland football team. in a statement today, the university said it signed edsel as the new coach. he coached the huskies for 12 seasons. a player can spend years behind bars if he's convict. he's accused of shooting a

25-year-old man on new year's eve. simone told police he was in the area, but did not pull the trigger. police believe sy moan is hiding in santiago. 5 firefighters is recovering after suffering injury in a fire. they found a seven-floor vacant building in flames. the floor was too weak, forcing fire fighters to bat they will blaze from outside. >> we tried to make sure if there's no life hazard inside the building itself, firefighters basically are taking extra precaution so that we get no injuries to firefighters in cases like this. >> it took crews a few hours to bring the fire under control. there's no word on how it started. baltimore county police are investigating a suspicious death in essex. we're told a female was shot in the stomach around 6:00. it happened in the 1600 block of riverwood road in essex. the investigation is ongoing. a man is at shock trauma after

he was shot in his back. it happened at ingleside avenue in wood lawn. his injuries are considered life threatening. no word on a suspect or possible motive. the search continues for the gunman who shot an 18-year-old man in west baltimore. the unidentified man was shot in the leg in the 1800 block of west baltimore street. he was taken oa nearby hospital and is expected to survive. for the first time in 15 year, baltimore city will have a new state's attorney as greg bernstein is sworn in. he is taking on a job that's been at the forefront of harsh criticism and serious questions. >> i think it's important to be transparent and to be accountable. >> when greg bernstein ran for state's attorney, a lot of people asked him why he would want this difficult job. officially, his now in a matter of hours, with the glare of expectations about to be focused on him. >> people will be watching him.

there are a lot of people who didn't vote for him he has to prove himself to a large segment of the local population. >> johns hopkins political analyst mathew crenson believes bernstein's greatest challenge may be an issue no one wants to speak about publicly. with the former office holder out of office, the face to have crime fighting is two white men, bernstein and the white police chief. >> he's a white prosecutor in a position that's a sensitive one racially in a majority black city. he has to prove himself to baltimore's african-american population. >> like the police commissioner, bernstein wants to focus on the city's most dangerous criminals. he has said he will improve conviction rates and publish them. he has also indicated he will personally try cases. >> i don't think that a lot of things we are proposing are that

extravagant or jute outrageous or new or novel. i think it begins with leadership. >> from the courthouse to the senate, maryland senator barbara mccullsky is days away from becoming the longest serving woman in the history of the u.s. senate. the 74-year-old democrat won her first term to the senate in 1986. on wednesday she'll be sworn into her fifth term, breaking the record held by representative margaret chase smith who represented maine for 24 years. anxious republicans are ready to take control on congress when they're sworn in on wednesday. they're returning with an aggressive agenda, to undo what the democrats have done over the last two years, starting with health care reform. republicans are picking up some senate seats, but not enough toover ride a presidential veto. today, president barack obama took a break from his vacation to sign into law the james

zargrova 9/11 act. it allows those sickened at ground zero to receive special benefits. coming up, thousands of dead birds fall on a town leaving experts baffled. and in the agent of digital, one computer crash could lose all your files. and a navy investigation under way after racy videos are released. we'll tell you what's in them. >> we had nice, mild temperatures for a day or so. the colder weather is coming back. right now, clear skies and it's already colder at the airport, already colder at the airport, down to 34.