PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Seattle Seahawks aren't supposed to win this way -- not on the road, not in this stadium, not so convincingly. At least they weren't until Mike Holmgren was hired as coach and general manager.

	The Seahawks' Charlie Rogers evades the diving John Fiala on his way to a 94-yard punt return.

The Seahawks scored the first two times they touched the ball -- on Merton Hanks' 23-yard interception return for a touchdown and Charlie Rogers' team-record 94-yard punt return -- in romping over the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-10 Sunday.

The Seahawks (2-1) meshed a dominating defense and an effective offense. They collected five interceptions and chased error-prone Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart by halftime, when they led 26-0.

Holmgren spent the week yelling after a tight 14-13 victory at Chicago, which followed an upset loss to Detroit. So the Seahawks, 1-5 previously in Three Rivers Stadium, took delight when Steelers fans began booing with only 3:20 gone and Seattle already up 14-0.

Holmgren left Green Bay after last season to join Seattle for the control and autonomy he has long sought.

"Sometimes we need a wake-up call, and he rang the bell," defensive end Phillip Daniels said. "It was red alert. This is a tough place to play, and we did it in a pretty good fashion."

Todd Peterson made a club-record five field goals, four in the first half, and Seattle's defense held Jerome Bettis to 39 yards. The defense constantly set up scoring opportunities for an offense that led by two touchdowns before it ran its first play from scrimmage.

"That was huge for us," said quarterback Jon Kitna, who was 18-for-29 for 265 yards. "We talked all week about wanting to start fast. And it didn't matter if it was on offense or defense.

GAME NOTES

Seattle started 3-0 last season, before a 13-10 loss in Pittsburgh started a run of six losses in the next eight games. The Steelers have lost their last three home games, dating to last season. It was the Steelers' latest home opener since 1962, when they didn't play in Pittsburgh until Sept. 30. The referee was Phil Luckett, who was involved in controversies with both teams last season. He made the disputed coin flip in the Steelers' Thanksgiving loss in Detroit, and his crew awarded Jets QB Vinny Testaverde a touchdown when he didn't score in a one-point victory over Seattle in December. Steelers rookie kicker Kris Brown is 7-for-7 in field goals. Seattle's only previous victory in Pittsburgh was in 1991.

The Steelers (2-1) flashed back offensively to their season-ending five-game losing streak of last season. They didn't penetrate inside Seattle's 38-yard line until late in the third quarter, and their only points came in the fourth quarter.

Stewart, who said he "wasn't excited" about being yanked, was 7-for-14 for 61 yards and three interceptions. Mike Tomczak wasn't much better, going 14-for-27 for 159 yards and two interceptions.

"But there is no way Kordell Stewart's confidence is shattered," said Stewart, who produced only one touchdown during that losing streak a year ago. "Not even a little bit."

The Steelers, who moved the ball at will two weeks ago in beating Cleveland 43-0, couldn't move it all against Seattle.

"I thought our quarterback performance was very bad," coach Bill Cowher said.

Stewart, under constant pressure from former Steelers linebacker Chad Brown, saw his second pass of the game deflect off Will Blackwell's hands directly to Hanks, whose scoring return with 1:08 gone was the third of his career and first with Seattle.

"The Steelers offense is based on running the football," Brown said. "They don't ask the quarterback to win the game for them. They depend on the running game, and you take that away if you get ahead."

Barely two minutes later, Rogers was backed up to his 6-yard line by a high, sailing 62-yard Josh Miller punt. But he took off up the Steelers' sideline, ran through Miller, then outraced Lance Brown for the longest punt return in team history, at 11:40 of the first.

Joey Galloway, who is currently holding out, held the record of 89 yards against the Giants in 1995. It also was the longest punt return against the Steelers in their 66-year history.

"I was shocked," Steelers receiver Hines Ward said. "Just like that, it was 14-0. Everybody got frustrated then."

On Seattle's first offensive play, Kitna found Mike Pritchard open against Dewayne Washington for 51 yards, setting up Peterson's 45-yard field goal.

"They ran some strange routes, some routes we never saw before," Washington said of a Steelers defense that, because of injuries, had one rookie safety (Scott Shields) and another playing out of position (Travis Davis). "Kitna played a great game. He reminded me of a young Brett Favre."

Favre, not coincidentally, was Holmgren's quarterback in Green Bay.

Peterson also hit from the 51, 41, 26 and 38, but missed a 30-yarder off the left upright. Ricky Watters carried 29 times for 98 yards, mostly in the second half.