"The last time Matt Hasselbeck faced the Saints in a meaningful game, he was a limping man leading a lame-looking team.

His four-touchdown performance that day guided the Seahawks to one of the more memorable playoff victories in recent NFL history, an elimination of the defending Super Bowl champs.

But that 2010 postseason game also might be the reason Hasselbeck eventually landed in Nashville, where he'll lead the Titans against another powerful Saints team on Sunday.

Titans executives who watched him beat the Saints last January came away convinced that Hasselbeck — despite a regular season that had been nothing special — still had what it took to be a quality quarterback in the NFL.

"That game really kind of reestablished him," said Titans General Manager Mike Reinfeldt, who signed Hasselbeck in July. "He'd kind of struggled during the regular season. His numbers had changed, and his ratio of TDs to interceptions wasn't as good."