SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks’ defense had a different look Sunday, and not just because injuries left it without starting defensive end Brandon Mitchell and middle linebacker Randall Godfrey.
Veteran cornerback Shawn Springs, who has struggled at times this year after missing the first four games of the season with a shoulder injury, lost his starting spot in Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.
Ken Lucas replaced Springs in the lineup and had a solid game in the 34-7 victory, with an interception and three pass breakups. Springs saw extensive playing time, partly due to an injury to Marcus Trufant, but wasn’t happy about the benching.
“I’ve got nothing to say,” he said. “We won, so I’m happy about that.”
Springs had a team-high nine solo tackles and a sack, but nearly got beat for a long touchdown in the fourth quarter. Cleveland wide receiver Dennis Northcutt had a step on Springs inside the 10-yard line, but quarterback Kelly Holcomb overthrew everyone.
Coach Mike Holmgren said that the lineup decision was made after Springs’s subpar performance one week earlier in Baltimore.
“After last week, when Shawn struggled just a little bit, I want him to feel good about things again,” Holmgren said. “So we started Lucas. Next week, I could start Shawn. They’re going back and forth.”
Holmgren had another decision to make Sunday when Godfrey showed up at the stadium complaining of discomfort in his chest region. The starting middle linebacker had suffered a bruised sternum two weeks earlier and was held out of practices most of last week.
Orlando Huff started in Godfrey’s place and had two tackles.
Lamar King made his first start of the season in place of Mitchell, who suffered a calf injury last Sunday. King also had two tackles.
Slugfest: Things got so heated in the trenches Sunday that Cleveland defensive lineman Gerard Warren got ejected in the third quarter for throwing a punch at Seahawks center Robbie Tobeck.
Tobeck and Warren had been engaged in verbal exchanges all afternoon before things finally came to a head. According to Tobeck, Warren head-slapped him and then threw an uppercut to the jaw. Head linesman Mark Hittner immediately threw a penalty flag and ejected Warren from the game.
“I won by not fighting,” Tobeck cracked afterward. “Let that be a lesson for all the kids out there.”
The end: When starting tight end Itula Mili suffered a concussion early in the second quarter, it left the Seahawks with just one player at the position.
Jerramy Stevens took advantage of the extra playing time by doubling his season totals. Stevens caught two passes for 20 yards, giving him four receptions for 39 yards on the year.
Until Sunday, Stevens had gone three consecutive weeks without a reception.
Seattle opened the year with three tight ends, but lost Ryan Hannam to season-ending knee surgery in October.
Injury update: The severity of Mili’s concussion was unknown, and two other Seahawks will be evaluated today.
Fullback Mack Strong and offensive lineman Jerry Wunsch suffered sprained ankles and did not return.
Strong had a productive day before suffering the injury, with 22 rushing yards and four receptions for 56 yards. He now has career highs in rushing (155 yards) and receiving (182 yards) in this, his 11th, season.
“Yeah, I’m going to have a 1,000-yard rushing season in my 14th year,” he said of his recent production.
Cornerback Marcus Trufant suffered an injured thumb in the first quarter but eventually returned to the game.
The 1,000-yard man: For the third consecutive season, running back Shaun Alexander has gone over 1,000 rushing yards.
Alexander had a season-high 127 yards Sunday to give him 1,034 this year. He also scored his 11th touchdown of the season and 47th of his career. Alexander ranks one TD behind Chris Warren for third place on the franchise’s all-time list.
Starting wide receivers Koren Robinson and Darrell Jackson also had 100-yard games, albeit in receiving yards. Jackson had a team-high eight receptions for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Robinson had 122 yards off six catches.
It marked Robinson’s first 100-yard receiving game this season. Jackson has now done it three times and in each of the past two games. Jackson has also proven to be over the drops that plagued him during the middle stretch of the season, catching a team-high 15 passes for 248 yards in the past two games combined.
Brotherly love: Brothers Matt and Tim Hasselbeck just missed making NFL history as the first pair of siblings to quarterback their teams to victory on the same day.
Matt held up his end by leading the Seahawks to the win over Cleveland. Tim helped the Washington Redskins take a 17-10 lead, but they ultimately lost to New Orleans 24-20. Tim Hasselbeck finished the game with 22 completions out of 44 attempts for 231 yards and an interception.
The Hasselbecks are the second set of brothers to start at quarterback on the same day. University of Washington alums Brock and Damon Huard did it on Nov. 26, 2000. Damon led the Miami Dolphins to a victory over the Indianapolis Colts, while Brock’s Seahawks lost to the Denver Broncos.
Hot autumn: Matt Hasselbeck had an amazing month of November. In leading the Seahawks to a 3-2 record, Hasselbeck completed 107 of 164 pass attempts for a 107.4 quarterback rating, up from his season average of 91.6 coming into Sunday’s game. He has thrown 11 touchdowns in the last five games and just two interceptions.
Quick slants: The Browns’ quarterback controversy heated up when Tim Couch took over for starter Kelly Holcomb at the beginning of the third quarter, but an ankle injury limited Couch to just five plays. … Punter Tom Rouen was charged with a blocked punt Sunday, but he contends that the ball hit snapper J.P. Darche before he kicked it. The league may eventually rule it a fumble rather than a blocked kick. As it stands now, Rouen has had a punt blocked in consecutive weeks, both of which were returned for touchdowns.
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