Seahawks bounce back
SEATTLE — Utilizing a simplified offense that seemed to agree with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and running back Shaun Alexander, the Seahawks did more than enough to register a relatively comfortable victory over Carolina on Sunday.
But that’s just not Seattle’s style.
True to their habit of bizarre, frantic finishes, the Seahawks kept the 66,214 paying customers around to the very end before sealing up a 23-17 victory at Qwest Field when Marcus Trufant recovered an onside kick to thwart an improbable Panthers comeback.
It added up to a much-needed win, one that moved Seattle to 4-3 and into a tie with St. Louis for first in the NFC West. The Seahawks had lost three straight games before holding off Carolina, which slipped to 1-6 and looks nothing like the 2003 Panthers that advanced to the Super Bowl.
“I think this is a start,” said Alexander, who rushed for 195 yards and scored on a touchdown run and reception. “Our goals are much bigger than just winning four games. Until we are there, then we are going to just keep getting better.”
Seattle’s offense, a sore point for much of the previous two games, finally clicked against the Panthers, who were missing several injured starters on defense. Alexander, who had just 28 carries the last two weeks, had 32 Sunday.
Hasselbeck, who threw 41 times last week and 50 the week before, was an efficient 21 of 30 for 201 yards. Coaches pared the playbook down this week to alleviate some of Hasselbeck’s workload.
“As a quarterback sometimes that’s a hard thing to hear,” he said. “But the approach I took was a good one because (head coach) Mike Holmgren and (quarterbacks coach) Jim Zorn know what they’re doing and they know what they’re talking about. Coach Zorn was hammering home all week that he wanted me to just relax and play football.”
It went according to plan, for roughly 57 minutes. Seattle led 23-10 and seemed home free when Trufant intercepted a Jake Delhomme pass and returned it 58 yards to Carolina’s 32 with 3:08 remaining. But three plays later, Hasselbeck mishandled the snap on a field-goal attempt and Carolina took over at its 35 with no timeouts remaining.
On first down, Delhomme hit Keary Colbert for 63 yards. Three plays later, Muhsin Muhammad pulled in a pass at the 1-yard line.
However, officials reviewed the play and ruled that Muhammad was in the end zone when he caught the ball. That cut Seattle’s lead to 23-17 and officials restored 21 seconds that ticked away while they were spotting the ball as Carolina hurried to the line of scrimmage.
Trufant finally sealed the outcome by fielding the onside kick with 1:38 remaining.
“Sometimes it’s close and sometimes it’s a blowout,” receiver Darrell Jackson shrugged. “I’m just glad we got it done.”
Seattle’s offense was precise early. The Seahawks opened with their sharpest drive since the initial series of the St. Louis game, mixing six Alexander runs with Hasselbeck’s 4-of-4 passing to cover 77 yards in less than six minutes.
The Seahawks went up 14-0 with a strange 94-yard drive. Hasselbeck had completed all nine of his throws until Heath Evans dropped a pass in the right flat that would have resulted in a first down. With Seattle in punt formation from its 27, Carolina’s Ricky Manning, lined up on the perimeter across from one of Seattle’s “gunners”, was flagged for delay of game.
Officials told Manning he made an “unnatural football move,” apparently trying to entice the Seahawk to jump off-side. Manning said he was merely backing up.
Seattle capitalized as Hasselbeck pitched a pair of completions to Jackson and Mack Strong. Alexander cruised in from the 4 for the touchdown with 9:07 left in the second quarter.
Just when it appeared Seattle was in complete command, Carolina rallied as Delhomme zipped a 15-yard touchdown strike to Muhammad, who finished with eight catches for 106 yards.
Seattle responded immediately with a Hasselbeck-to-Koren Robinson pass covering 21 yards and Alexander going over the 100-yard mark with a 38-yard sprint off left tackle. But on second-and-goal from the 7, Hasselbeck rolled right and inexplicably threw the ball right to linebacker Brian Allen.
“There is no satisfactory explanation,” Holmgren said, adding he had “no idea” what Hasselbeck was trying to do.
Despite nearly a 2-to-1 edge in yardage (272-148), Seattle led just 14-7 at half. Most of Seattle’s damage was self-inflicted. In addition to Hasselbeck’s interception, Jackson had two post-reception fumbles, losing one.
Seattle continued to pile up yards, but had to settle for three Josh Brown field goals in the second half. Carolina closed within 14-10 early in the third on John Kasay’s field goal, but didn’t strike again until the closing two minutes.
Alexander fueled most of Seattle’s second-half offense, working behind an offensive line that was missing Chris Terry (shoulder) and Steve Hutchinson, who missed most of the game with an ankle injury. Floyd Womack subbed for Terry and Jerry Wunsch replaced Hutchinson. Both subs helped Seattle accumulate 237 rushing yards.
“Our offense is exciting because I can be running down the sideline with no one touching me and Matt can be throwing passes to receivers that are untouched,” Alexander said. “We just really went vanilla on offense and that let us go out and make plays.”
Seattle visits San Francisco next Sunday.