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<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Seahawks cornerback Josh Wilson returns an interception 61 yards for a touchdown with 22 seconds remaining in the game, sealing the Seahawks 32-20 win over the Lions.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, November 8, 2009 Seahawks pick off Lions Down 17-0, Seattle intercepts 5 passes, rallies to beat Detroit By John Boyle Herald Writer SEATTLE — Having dug themselves into a huge hole early, the Seattle Seahawks still had one thing going for them Sunday afternoon. They were playing the Detroit Lions. So just when it seemed like a season full of low moments was heading toward rock bottom in the form of a home loss to Detroit, the Seahawks rallied behind a record-setting day by quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and beat the lowly Lions 32-20 at Qwest Field. Most of the 67,003 in attendance were on their feet cheering as Josh Wilson returned an interception — the fifth of the day thrown by Lions rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford — for a 61-yard, game-clinching touchdown with 22 seconds to play in the game. But those same fans showered the home team with boos throughout the first quarter. The Seahawks — or more accurately the right upright in the south end zone — stopped the Lions on the game's opening possession when a Jason Hanson field-goal attempt went clang — hitting the upright — but things went bad in a hurry for Seattle after that. Seattle's first play from scrimmage was a Matt Hasselbeck interception that led to a Lions touchdown. Upon getting the ball back, fullback Justin Griffith fumbled on the first play of Seattle's next possession, and three plays later, the Lions were in the end zone once again. Drive No. 3 for Seattle started off with consecutive runs that lost yardage, and following a completed pass, the decision to go for it on fourth-and-one at the Seahawks' 38-yard line. Julius Jones' third run of the possession was slightly better than his previous two — he was stopped for no gain on fourth down — and the Lions took possession of the ball in Seahawks territory once again. Seahawks coach Jim Mora said after the game that he made the wrong decision in going for it, “But it was a decision that I made because I just felt like I'd had enough.” Seven plays later Hanson kicked a 41-yard field goal to give the Lions — who came into the game having not won on the road since October of 2007 — a 17-0 lead. Mora, had called his team out following their loss to Dallas the previous Sunday — threatened to make changes — then did so early in the week. The Seahawks responded by stumbling out of the gate against a team that had won two of its past 31 games. Yet even with a 17-0 deficit staring them in the face, the Seahawks remained confident. “I thought we were going to win,” said receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, whose 3-yard touchdown catch gave the Seahawks a 22-17 lead in the third quarter. “It could be that we were playing Detroit, you know, but I think everybody had that confidence.” Players had the same reaction as the fans when the Lions, a winless team a year ago, jumped ahead by three scores. “I was just like, ‘Wow, are you serious?'” Houshmandzadeh said. “But I honestly felt like we were going to win the game.” The Seahawks came into the game having lost two straight by 21 or more points, and in the first of those two blowouts, a home loss to Arizona, they fell behind in similar fashion, spotting the Cardinals a 17-0 lead thanks to turnovers. Against Detroit, however, the Seahawks were able to recover from a sloppy start. “We had to battle a lot of adversity today,” said Hasselbeck. “The turnovers, starting 17-0, we've done that once this year, we didn't handle it very well. We handled it a lot better today. We made some halftime adjustments, we stayed together on the sidelines, we stayed together in the locker room and we grew. We definitely grew. I think we built some confidence in each other, kind of a ‘you can count on me' attitude.” And the Seahawks could certainly count on Hasselbeck after he was intercepted on his first throw of the game. From that point on, he was 39-for-50 for 329 yards and a touchdown. Hasselbeck broke his own franchise record for completions in a game, and he also passed Dave Krieg as the team's all-time leader in completions. After the team struggled to run the ball early, Mora and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp decided to commit to the passing game, and the move paid off. After the Lions extended their lead to 17-0, the Seahawks answered with a 60-yard touchdown drive that started with seven straight passes — all completions — before Justin Forsett rushed for 14 yards. Julius Jones scored two plays later on a 3-yard run and the comeback was on. Detroit's next possession lasted only five plays, thanks to an interception by Seattle middle linebacker David Hawthorne. Hawthorne, who was making his third start in place of the injured Lofa Tatupu, finished with a team-high nine tackles and had two interceptions. He nearly had a third interception one play before Wilson's pick six at the end of the game. Hawthorne's first interception led to a 37-yard field goal by Olindo Mare, who made four field goals Sunday and is now 9-for-9 on field goal attempts since drawing the ire of Mora with two misses in a Week 3 loss to Chicago. The Seahawks got the ball back again with 1:13 left in the first half thanks to another interception, this time by Deon Grant. The interception set up a 37-yard Mare field goal and got the Seahawks to within four points at halftime. Mare added another field goal in the third quarter, and the Seahawks made it 22 unanswered points when Hasselbeck connected with Houshmandzadeh for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 2:32 left in the third quarter. After Mare extended the lead to eight points in the fourth quarter with his fourth field goal, the Lions answered with a field goal of their own to make it a five-point game. Detroit had two chances to take the lead, but both drives ended with interceptions, the fourth and fifth of the day for Stafford, the top pick in this year's NFL draft. The Seahawks now travel to Arizona to face the NFC West-leading Cardinals next Sunday, and at 3-5, the Seahawks can't afford to fall any further behind in the division race. “I'm worried about next week now,” said Houshmandzadeh. “Because it's a division opponent, they beat the hell out last time and if we've got any chance of making this a season, we've got to win.” Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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