SEATTLE — The good-time jangles of a guitar playing the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Give It Away” had barely faded out on the loudspeakers at Qwest Field.
And then, the music still ringing in the ears of 65,000 fans desperate for a win, the Seattle Seahawks gave it away.
Again.
The Seahawks’ season-long struggles continued on Sunday afternoon, when the excitement of a late fumble recovery was quickly replaced by a Matt Hasselbeck interception — all in a matter of seconds.
By the time Washington cornerback Shawn Springs wrapped his arm around Hasselbeck’s final pass with 1:20 left on the clock, the Seahawks’ all-too-familiar fate had been secured. Sunday’s 20-17 loss to Washington marked the fourth consecutive Sunday in which Seattle ended up on the wrong end of the scoreboard. It also marked the team’s fourth consecutive home defeat, matching the number of home losses the Seahawks had in the 2005 through 2007 seasons combined.
The hits just keep coming.
“It’s frustrating,” offensive lineman Sean Locklear said after Sunday’s loss. “In the past, (last-minute comebacks) haven’t been a problem for us. But today, one-and-out. That’s just the way it’s been for us this year.”
This one was especially hard for the Seahawks (2-9) to take considering how it ended.
After an unexpected fumble by Washington running back Ladell Betts gave Seattle hope with 1:28 remaining on the clock, the Seahawks threw an interception on the next play to pop the bubble of hope again.
“It’s almost deja vu from last week,” Locklear said, referring to an interception that ended Seattle’s comeback hopes in a six-point loss to Arizona on the previous Sunday. “But it’s also how the whole year has been. It’s just like it’s not our year.”
The interception killed the possibility of a late comeback, spoiled a big day from running back Maurice Morris (103 rushing yards) and sent Seattle into its deepest hole since 1992, when the Seahawks started 1-10 on the way to a franchise-worst 2-14 season.
“I’ve been here for seven years, and we’re used to winning, but it’s one of those things where you just have to fight through it,” Morris said. “We’re not going to give up.”
Sunday’s loss, for all its reminders of what a long season this has been, also brought a bit of the team’s history back. Washington coach Jim Zorn was one of the most popular Seahawks players in the late 1970s, while Redskins running back Shaun Alexander spent his first eight NFL seasons in Seattle.
Alexander’s impact was minimal — he was one of three Washington players to not even play in the game — but the knowledge Zorn gained during the past seven seasons as a Seahawks assistant coach proved invaluable on Sunday. Washington appeared at times as if it knew exactly what Seattle was planning to run most of the day.
The result was a frustrating afternoon for Hasselbeck, who threw two touchdown passes for the first time all year but also threw for just 103 yards and two interceptions.
He completed just one of his first seven passes as the Seahawks fell behind 7-3 but rebounded to lead the team on a nine-play, 72-yard touchdown drive late in the second quarter.
Seattle’s 10-7 lead marked its first halftime advantage since an Oct. 26 win over San Francisco, but Washington responded by scoring on two consecutive drives in the third quarter for a 17-10 lead.
Hasselbeck connected with tight end John Carlson for a 10-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, marking the first time the Seahawks were even or tied with an opponent in the final period in four games.
Washington (7-4) responded with its third consecutive scoring drive of the second half, marching 64 yards in 10 plays to set up Shaun Suisham’s 22-yard field goal. That put Washington ahead 20-17 with 9:19 remaining in regulation, and the Seahawks couldn’t score again. A four-play drive stalled out at the Seattle 37-yard line when Hasselbeck overthrew a pass to Bobby Engram with 7:16 remaining.
Then Washington went on what appeared to be another long scoring drive, only to fumble the ball away at the Seattle 22 with 1:28 remaining.
Qwest Field came alive, and the Seahawks had hope, but it only lasted eight seconds.
Much like the previous week’s loss that saw Hasselbeck throw an interception with 1:55 remaining, the quarterback gave it away again when his pass to Koren Robinson was picked off by Springs.
“It was a very costly mistake, a huge mistake,” said Hasselbeck, who took full blame for the throw, “and it ended our chances.
“Our defense gave us a great chance to come back and tie or win the game, and I made a poor decision and ended that chance — ended the game, really.”
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