Hasselbeck passes for 362 yards, three TDs in win

SEATTLE (AP) -- The young Seattle Seahawks realize they'll make

plenty of mistakes when they lose. Matt Hasselbeck and Orlando Huff

showed they're also learning how to get it right.

Allen's Analysis

Question on the Chiefs: Did this pretty much end their playoff hopes? Yes, I think so. There are too many teams to hop over in the AFC West (Denver, San Diego and Oakland). And I don't believe they'll finish strong enough to win a wild card. Now the Chiefs have an opportunity to be spoilers the rest of the way. Question on the Seahawks: Why can't they play like this two or three weeks in a row? Good question. The simple answer is this: inconsistency. The Seahawks don't have anything they can really hang their hat on as a team. Is it the running game? The defense? The QB? As a result, they don't have a real identity, and their performance is up and down from week to week. Eric Allen played cornerback for 14 NFL seasons with the Eagles, Saints and Raiders.

Hasselbeck had his best performance of the season, throwing for

career highs with 362 yards and three touchdowns as the Seahawks

beat the Kansas City Chiefs 39-32 on Sunday. He completed 25 of 36

passes without an interception.

"I'm comfortable, and I guess that's part of the maturing

process,'' said Hasselbeck, in his fourth NFL season. "Part of it

is that our young guys are really playing well. I'm going to have a

better day if those guys improve.''

Shaun Alexander ran for 145 yards on 23 carries and sealed the

victory for Seattle (4-7) when he ran for a 46-yard touchdown on a

counter play that made it 39-25 with 1:52 remaining.

"This is the most positive team I've ever been on,'' Alexander

said. "Every week, everyone feels like this is going to be the

week that we play like Super Bowl champions.''

Kansas City's Priest Holmes ran for 197 yards and two TDs on 23

carries and caught seven passes for 110 yards, including a screen

pass from Green that went for a 64-yard TD and a 17-7 lead midway

through the second quarter.

The Chiefs (5-6) pulled to 39-32 in the final minute when Trent

Green threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Marc Boerigter with 31

seconds to play, but Bobby Engram recovered the ensuing onside kick

for Seattle.

"I've never been involved in a game where a running back had

nearly 200 yards running but we still wound up minus-one in the

turnovers,'' Kansas City coach Dick Vermeil said. "And that was a

huge turnover.''

Credit Huff for that one.

He made a huge play when he intercepted a pass by Green after

the Chiefs reached Seattle's 1-yard line just before the half. Huff

made an athletic play, dancing to keep his feet in the end zone

with the Seahawks trailing 17-14.

"I knew I had my hands on the ball, so it was just a matter of

getting my feet down,'' said Huff, a second-year player. "I

thought I had it, but I knew I had it after I looked up and saw the

replay.''

The officials needed another look, too. They initially ruled

Huff didn't have possession but the play was overturned after a

review when Seattle challenged the decision.

"We could have gone up 24-14 and it would have been a different

game,'' Green said. "All of a sudden, we gave them a lift.''

Hasselbeck took over from there with 59 seconds, working the

clock and marching the Seahawks downfield.

Hasselbeck capped the drive with a perfectly placed 6-yard TD

pass to rookie tight end Jerramy Stevens, who beat Eric Warfield

with a great catch over his head for his first NFL touchdown. That

gave the Seahawks a 21-17 lead before the break.

"I just put the ball somewhere for him to make a play,''

Hasselbeck said. "I give him all the credit. It's something we've

been working on after practice. There were 10 seconds left in the

half, and I didn't want to blow it.''

While the Seahawks have allowed 170.1 yards rushing a game to

rank as the NFL's worst run defense, the Chiefs came in ranked last

against the pass and in total defense.

It clearly was Hasselbeck's best effort of the season, coming

four weeks after he took over as Seattle's starting quarterback

when Trent Dilfer went out for the season with a torn Achilles'

tendon.

"He has played well,'' coach Mike Holmgren said. "By all

standards you measure a quarterback, he's done OK.''

Even with Seattle down 10-0 after the first quarter, Hasselbeck

kept his poise. He completed 10 of 12 passes to finish the first

half, throwing for two TDs, and completing 11 straight at one

stretch during the second half.

"Every week, he gets better,'' Alexander said.

Hasselbeck threw eight passes for 168 yards to Koren Robinson

and six for 92 yards to Darrell Jackson, who played for the first

time since his postgame seizure in a Dallas locker room Oct. 27.

"Catching the first one was a big thing, but I felt fine,''

Jackson said. "I'm happy to be back making plays for the team.''

Green completed 26 of 34 passes for 343 with one TD and one

interception.

Game notes
LB Anthony Simmons returned for the Seahawks, playing for

the first time since opening week because of a high ankle sprain.

... Holmes scored his 20th TD of the season, breaking the Chiefs

record of 19 by Abner Haynes in 1962. ... The Seahawks had their

first 100-yard rusher, 300-yard passer and 100-yard receiver since

Sept. 15, 1985, at San Diego. That day, Curt Warner ran for 169,

Dave Krieg threw for 307 and Darryl Turner had 121 receiving yards.