Seahawks Notebook: Babineaux's number (27) came up

The No. 21 worn by the late Sean Taylor was everywhere at Qwest Field on Saturday.

Even the Seahawks have honored the memory of the Redskins' Pro Bowl safety, who was shot and killed in November, by wearing a "21" decal on their helmets. Teammates wore "Taylor 21" T-shirts under their uniforms. Redskins' fans flashed signs and towels bearing his number from the stands.

And, the Seahawks won the wild-card playoff game by 21 points, 35-14.

But Seahawks nickel back Jordan Babineaux was more interested in another number: His own. Babineaux, who wears No. 27, intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown with -- you guessed it -- 27 seconds left in the game.

"They had a lot to play for today," Babineaux said. "But so did we."

As for the thigh-pad angle, Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had one of his rendered useless on a third-quarter scramble when he was hit by Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot.

"He actually broke my thigh pad," Hasselbeck said. "Some guys don't wear thigh pads. It's a good thing I wear thigh pads."

Rather than send someone to the locker room to retrieve a replacement, No. 3 QB Charlie Frye came to the rescue.

"They kind of hid me, I took my pants down, I took it off," Frye said. "It's like changing his batteries; Matt just kept rolling."

HAWK TALK: Fullback Leonard Weaver's 17-yard touchdown for the first score was the longest scoring run by a Seahawk in a playoff game, eclipsing the 13-yard run by Shaun Alexander in the loss to the Bears in Chicago last season. "Man, it felt great, obviously," Weaver said. "It was just one of those experiences that I'll never forget." ... Wide receiver D.J. Hackett has played in only six full games this season because of ankle injuries, but he has three 100-yard receiving performances to lead the team. ... Hasselbeck threw more interceptions (two) than touchdown passes (one) for only the second time this season, and the first time since the Week 5 shutout loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh (one interception, no touchdowns). ... Punter Ryan Plackemeier's 41.6-yard average was his second-highest of the season (41.8 in Week 8 against the St. Louis Rams), and he also had a season-high four punts downed inside the 20-yard line. ... Nate Burleson averaged more yards on six punt returns (14.0) than he did on two kickoff returns (9.5). ... The Seahawks might not have played their final game at Qwest Field. If they beat the Packers in Green Bay on Saturday and the New York Giants upset the Cowboys in Dallas on Sunday, the NFC Championship Game would be played Jan. 20 in Seattle. ... The players are off Monday and will return Tuesday to begin practicing for Saturday's game.