By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – This was bound to happen. The Seattle Seahawks’ offense could only ride upon the shoulders of young running back Shaun Alexander for so long.
Eventually, someone else would have to make a play.
That case was proven in fluorescent lights Sunday, when the Kansas City Chiefs did everything they could to bottle up Alexander and breezed to a 19-7 victory.
It marked the Seahawks’ first loss since Nov. 4, and added another bump to what was beginning to look like a well-paved season.
“They really seemed to have our number today, and that’s unfortunate,” linebacker Levon Kirkland said, “because I thought as a team we were coming along. And now we’re a .500 team. But hope is not lost. We can pull through.”
The Chiefs (3-7) made a point of shutting down Alexander, and did enough to hold him to 43 yards on 13 carries on the ground. Kansas City had so many defenders at the line of scrimmage that Alexander later joked he saw 12 players and a few of his relatives lined up across the way. Seattle’s running game never really got going, and as a result, the offense sputtered.
While the Seahawks (5-5) committed no turnovers, they had three of nine offensive drives stall after just three plays and had just one drive go longer than 33 yards. The nine possessions yielded seven punts, a missed field goal and one touchdown.
“This was an important game for us,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said, “and we knew it. That’s what makes this so hard right now. This one was there for us to take, and we didn’t take it.”
Hasselbeck had decent statistics, completing 16 of 26 passes for 162 yards, but his only big completion was a 28-yard touchdown to Alexander during which the running back did most of the work.
“Someone has to step up,” coach Mike Holmgren said. “Someone had to step up and make a catch, make a play, make a run, make a tackle, make an interception. And we didn’t make any plays.”
The Chiefs fared much better on offense because, unlike the Seahawks, their running game was working. Priest Holmes ran for 120 yards on 26 carries, and his success carrying the ball opened up a passing game that piled up 245 yards. By the time the game was over, Kansas City had outgained Seattle 433-204 in total yardage.
Kansas City set the tone early, going 58 yards in seven plays before ex-Seahawks kicker Todd Peterson hit a 23-yard field goal to give the Chiefs a 3-0 lead. Seattle responded with a three-and-out on its first drive, and eventually Kansas City took a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter on Tony Richardson’s 1-yard touchdown run.
The Seahawks put their only points on the board with 4:33 to go in the first half, as Hasselbeck took advantage of a Kansas City blitz and hit Alexander on a short swing pass that resulted in a 28-yard touchdown.
Seattle drove into Kansas City territory on its first two drives of the second half, but eventually punted on both occasions. The Chiefs added another field goal following an impressive 17-play, 71/2-minute drive that stretched over parts of the third and fourth quarters, then essentially put the game out of reach when Mike Cloud scored on a 15-yard touchdown run. That carry was Cloud’s second of the season.
Seattle’s defense was certainly discouraged by its performance, as Holmes became just the second opposing runner to break the 100-yard mark, but the offense didn’t do much to help the cause.
“I don’t feel like we really established ourselves at all, except on the 78-yard (touchdown) drive,” tight end Christian Fauria said. “Other than that, we never really got it going.
“We needed some key plays, some key catches, and never got them. We killed drives, and kind of had to scrap our game plan.”
Without a running game, Seattle’s game plan seemed hopeless on Sunday. But they are not giving up hope on the season.
“There are six games left,” linebacker Chad Brown said, “and if you’re 10-6 you’re usually a playoff team. We have to pick it up if we want to utter the word ‘playoffs.’”
Said Holmgren: “It was a huge game for us, and an opportunity lost. It’s part of the growing process we are going through, but this one hurts.”
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