The National Football League playoffs for the 2007 season began on January 5, 2008 and led up to Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The Redskins rallied back from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but Seattle responded by intercepting two passes from Todd Collins, who hadn't thrown an interception in any of his games since replacing injured starter Jason Campbell, and scoring 22 points during the last 6 minutes of the game.

Midway through the first quarter, Seattle receiver Nate Burleson returned a punt 20 yards to the Washington 45-yard line, setting up Leonard Weaver's 17-yard touchdown run. In the second quarter, Burleson returned a punt 19 yards and a caught a 25-yard pass to set up a 50-yard field goal by Josh Brown, giving the Seahawks a 10-0 lead by halftime. Meanwhile, Seattle's defense forced the Redskins to punt on all of their possessions and did not allow them to move the ball more than 30 yards.

In the third quarter, Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck completed four consecutive passes for 47 yards, including a 35-yard completion to D. J. Hackett, setting up Brown's second field goal to increase their lead to 13-0. Collins led the Redskins 84 yards in 12 plays and finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Antwaan Randle El on the first play of the fourth quarter. Then shortly after the ensuing kickoff, Redskins safety LaRon Landry intercepted a pass from Hasselbeck and returned it to the Seattle 42-yard line. Two plays later, Collins threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss, giving them their first lead of the game at 14-13.

The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a tie-breaking procedure exists in the case of equal records. The tournament ends with the Super Bowl, the league's championship game, which matches the two conference champions.

NFL post-season history can be traced to the first NFL Championship Game in 1933, though in the early years, qualification for the game was based solely on regular season records. The first true NFL playoff began in 1967, when four teams qualified for the tournament. When the league merged with the American Football League in 1970, the playoffs expanded to eight teams. The playoffs were expanded to ten teams in 1978 and twelve teams in 1990.

The NFL is the only one out of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States to use a single-elimination tournament in its playoffs; Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League all use a "best-of" format instead.

Darren Lee Sproles (born June 20, 1983 in Waterloo, Iowa) is an American football running back of the NFL who plays for the New Orleans Saints. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kansas State.

Sproles was named as kick returner for the San Diego Chargers' '50 Greatest Chargers' team. He joined the Saints in free agency before the 2011 season, and broke the NFL record for most single-season all-purpose yardage the same year, with 2,696 yards.

Sproles attended Rolling Ridge Elementary, then Oregon Trail Junior High, followed by Olathe North High School, all in Olathe, Kansas. He has been conquering a speech impediment he has had since childhood. Sproles was a star in football, earning the name "Tank," after being born at 10 lb (4.5 kg). For two consecutive years, he was an All-Sunflower League honoree, All-Metro honoree, and an All-State selection. Additionally, he was twice named The Kansas City Star Player of the Year. As a senior, he was named the Kansas Hall of Fame Player of the Year and the USA Today Kansas Player of the Year. Throughout his high school career, Sproles rushed for 5,230 yards, averaging nearly 8.4 yards per carry and 79 touchdowns.