Seattle weathers Cards’ rally
SEATTLE – It wasn’t easy. It rarely is for the Seattle Seahawks.
They committed costly penalties and dropped interceptions that probably would have finished off the Cardinals. They took a game they had under complete control and made it another white-knuckle finish.
But this time they won, holding off Arizona 24-21 and soothing the frayed nerves of 65,825 at Qwest Field to secure a playoff berth in the wild, mild NFC. Seattle clinched at least a wild-card spot and would win the NFC West and host a first-round game if Philadelphia defeats St. Louis tonight.
“As I said to the team, if you bought season tickets this year, you got your money’s worth,” coach Mike Holmgren said. “It was a win we had to win. We accomplished our first goal which was to make the playoffs.”
Don’t hold your breath waiting for Seattle to apologize for making it with a modest 8-7 record.
“I know there’s been a bunch of discussion about who deserves to be in the playoffs and who doesn’t,” Holmgren said. “My personal feeling is that that is a bunch of baloney. We play by the rules and rules are such. We don’t have to apologize for anything. Getting in (the playoffs) is huge for our team.”
It was made possible by a long list of contributors – several of the usual suspects and a couple of units that haven’t pulled their weight this season.
Shaun Alexander and Darrell Jackson had record-setting days. Alexander ran for 154 yards to give him 1,616 for the season, breaking Chris Warren’s single-season team record. Alexander tacked on three touchdowns, sending his season total to 19 and eclipsing his team record of 18 in 2002.
Jackson hauled in six catches, surpassing Brian Blades’ single-season team record of 81. Trent Dilfer, who started in place of the injured Matt Hasselbeck, passed for only 128 yards, but his seven-yard run on a third-down scramble gave Seattle a crucial first down at the two-minute mark. If Arizona (5-10) had held, it would have had a chance to complete its comeback from a 24-7 fourth-quarter deficit. Seattle blew fourth-quarter leads at home against St. Louis and Dallas earlier this season.
Seattle built its lead with the assistance of its defense, which had been in freefall for most of the last month. The Seahawks picked off two passes and could have had five. Safety Ken Hamlin dropped two Josh McCown passes. Linebacker Solomon Bates had enough time to fair-catch the ball after it was deflected by defensive end Chike Okeafor as it left quarterback Josh McCown’s hand in the second quarter.
Seattle’s special teams, maligned all season, did its part as Bobby Engram’s 48-yard punt return set up the Seahawks’ first touchdown. A bothersome ankle injury had prevented Engram from returning punts since the New England game on Oct. 17.
The defense looked overmatched early as Arizona held a 122-10 edge in total yardage late in the first quarter. But the Cardinals led just 7-0, thanks in part to Ken Lucas’ interception in the end zone.
Seattle registered four sacks and forced three fumbles, all of which were recovered by the Cardinals.
Meanwhile, Seattle’s offense was abysmal at the outset. Unblocked defenders poured in on Dilfer, who misfired on his first six passes. His first completion came on the final play of the first quarter and it gave Seattle its initial first down.
Dilfer didn’t really heat up, but he made key connections on scoring drives to supplement Alexander’s running.
“They did some stuff that I haven’t seen probably since the Pittsburgh Steelers with Rod Woodson and Carnell Lake,” Dilfer said. “It was a battle all day to know where they were coming from.”
The tradeoff was Arizona couldn’t contain Alexander. He bounced out of a crowd of defenders to complete a 17-yard touchdown run late in the third, giving Seattle a 17-7 lead. He capped Seattle’s next possession with a 23-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter.
Then it was hang-on time. Rookie receiver Larry Fitzgerald shielded off cornerback Marcus Trufant on a 29-yard scoring pass to narrow Seattle’s lead to 10.
Lucas was flagged for a personal foul after tossing Emmitt Smith to the ground long after the whistle, but Arizona failed to capitalize when Neil Rackers missed a 52-yard field goal. On Arizona’s next series, Trufant was penalized on a fourth-down play and Fitzgerald struck with another 29-yard TD catch. Seattle’s lead was down to 24-21 with 2:30 left.
Seattle ran out the clock, thanks to Dilfer’s scramble on third down.
“I have no idea why every game (comes down to the wire),” Alexander said. “It’s one of those things where if I could fix it, I would. But a win’s a win and we’ll take close wins every time.”