NFL PLAYOFFS : These Falcons Don’t Worry About History : NFC: They says today’s divisional playoff should be different than the Nov. 10 game they lost to the Redskins, 56-17.

The last time the Atlanta Falcons visited the tight, rowdy confines of RFK Stadium, they were missing three key starters and the ability to stay within five touchdowns of the Washington Redskins.

The Falcons say the rematch will be different today in the NFC divisional playoffs, although holding Washington under 40 would nearly be an improvement after the 56-17 shellacking the Redskins brushed on Atlanta on Nov. 10.

The Falcons have made it clear they have heard enough about that game, which they played when they were at a low point and the Redskins were soaring to nearly untouchable heights and talking as if a berth in the Super Bowl was their birthright.

Since then, Washington has gone 4-2 and finished with a 14-2 record.

Atlanta, with quarterback Chris Miller, tackle Mike Kenn and cornerback Deion Sanders all back and healed, has gone 6-1 since then, including last week’s defeat of the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome in NFC wild-card game.

“It’s a different team,” Kenn told reporters in Atlanta this week. “The people who did play didn’t play very well at all. That’s something we’ve put ourselves back in position to correct.”

The winner this time will move on to the NFC championship game.

Atlanta comes into this game on the second-best roll in the conference, with only the Dallas Cowboys any hotter.

So the Falcons march back north into Redskin-land proud, vengeful and double-digit underdogs.

“If you do point spreads, you got the wrong deal here. I’m not buying that one,” Washington Coach Joe Gibbs said. “I’ve been in a few of those favored roles before when you walk out of there and say, ‘Hey, I got beat.’ ”

Without Miller, the Falcons had to use backup Billy Joe Tolliver against Washington last time without Kenn to protect his blindside.

And even more crucial, the Falcons’ defense kept on blitzing but didn’t have Sanders back there to team with Tim McKyer to protect the deep secondary.

Without Sanders, Atlanta’s defensive backs were badly overmatched. Among his collection of six touchdown passes, Redskin quarterback Mark Rypien had himself a nice little mini-season, throwing scoring passes that included an 82-yarder, a 64-yarder, a 61-yarder, a 41-yarder and a 37-yarder.

But an injury-free combination of Sanders and McKyer, who was burned frequently in the November game, should put some kind of shackles on the performance of the Redskins’ talented trio of receivers.

“We’ve been looking at film of those guys, and there’s no way we’re not taking them seriously,” Gibbs said.

The Redskins had the No. 3-rated defense in the league in the regular season but is concerned about the Falcons’ quick-strike abilities, using a version of the run-and-shoot offense.

Miller threw 26 touchdown passes this season. In Atlanta’s last five games, including the wild-card playoff, he has averaged two scoring passes per game.

Receiver Michael Haynes, in particular, has stepped out in the offense, sharing some of the limelight with Andre Rison. Haynes, who put the Saints away with two long touchdown receptions, was the only full-time receiver in the league to average more than 20 yards per catch this season.

“People can’t just talk about the same guys, the Rices and Taylors and those guys,” Washington cornerback Darrell Green said. “All these other guys are outstanding. Haynes and Rison are right there with anybody.”

Said Redskin defensive coordinator Richie Petitbon: “It’s the same old thing with the run-and-shoot. I think it’s scary. They’ve got big-play guys, very fast receivers. You’re never safe.

“It’s a big-play offense that can go either way. They can come in and kill you, or they can stink it up. Any time you play people with the type of speed they have and the guy delivering the ball has talent, I think it’s a scary situation.”

The Redskins, who had their quest for a perfect season ruined by the Dallas Cowboys a few weeks after thrashing Atlanta, ended their regular season with a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. But, in that defeat they rested most of their key starters in the second half, including Rypien.

Since then, they have had two weeks to think about that loss and prepare for a hot Atlanta team desperate to make up for the 39-point defeat that the Redskins laid on it.

“You like to finish on an up note, and that game has given us things to work on,” Rypien said. “Now, it’s a new season. We want to get going.”

Said Gibbs: “We didn’t like being a wild-card (team) last year. Now we’ll see how we like being the favorite.”