Seahawks run wild

SEATTLE — It seemed like old times at Qwest Field on Sunday afternoon … sort of.

The Seattle Seahawks got back on the winning track, but they didn’t put on their typical show. Whether it was rookie Michael Bumpus catching touchdown passes, a nearly unstoppable running game or quarterback Matt Hasselbeck setting up a score with — of all things — a block downfield, the Seahawks found unique ways to get the job done.

Anyone who thought the Seahawks had problems saw what a real mess looked like on Sunday. The Rams dropped to 0-3 after their third consecutive double-digit loss. And Seattle was all too happy to dole out a 37-13 beating.

“This was an important game for us, and we said that all week,” offensive lineman Mike Wahle said. “It came at the right time, with the bye week coming up.”

The Seahawks played their best half of the season before halftime, taking a 27-6 lead at the break, and were able to keep the Rams at arm’s length the rest of the way.

Playing without five offensive starters — not to mention the four hobbled defensive starters who played with extra protection — Seattle found new ways to get the job done.

Bumpus, a rookie from Washington State University who was playing his second NFL game, gave Seattle a 10-0 lead with a diving catch in the end zone.

From there, the Seahawks went back to their 2005 method of winning games. That is, they ran the heck out of the ball. Free-agent additions Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett combined for 219 of the Seahawks’ season-high 245 rushing yards. It marked the most yards gained on the ground by Seattle since the Seahawks ran for a team-record 320 in an October 2005 win over Houston.

Jones got the ball rolling with a 29-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, giving Seattle a 17-0 lead. His lead blocker was the 225-pound Hasselbeck, who actually took out two defenders by diving at the ankles of safety Oshiomogho Atogwe and cornerback Fakhir Brown at the same time.

“I just try to help,” Hasselbeck said after the win. “It was a little bit like bowling. You get one pin, and the other goes down, and you act like you did it on purpose.”

Jones temporarily came out of the game four minutes later, having been knocked woozy on a tackle, and Duckett stepped in without a falloff. The 254-pound veteran finished off the Seahawks’ first series of the second quarter by scoring on a 4-yard run to put the Seahawks ahead 24-3.

With a comfortable lead, the Seahawks continued to run the ball. Jones finished with 140, while Duckett added 79 on 19 carries. The combined performance marked only the third time since the end of the historic 2005 season that the Seahawks have gone over 200 rushing yards as a team.

With defensive end Patrick Kerney, middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu and cornerback Marcus Trufant wearing casts, and cornerback Kelly Jennings nursing a broken rib, the Seahawks defense still found a way to keep the Rams’ offense at bay. St. Louis had 177 of its 240 total yards after halftime, when the Seahawks were just trying not to give up the big play.

The Seahawks got a spark from injured receiver Bobby Engram, who addressed the team before the game and told the players that people were starting to write the team off. Between that perception and the looming bye — Seattle has no game Sunday and won’t play again until its Oct. 5 date with the defending champion New York Giants — the Seahawks were hoping to send a message Sunday.