PITTSBURGH — While the Pittsburgh Steelers entered Sunday’s game without four injured starters, the Seattle Seahawks did their darnedest to even the odds.
Seattle lost Pro Bowl fullback Mack Strong to a neck stinger in the first quarter, then lost leading receiver Deion Branch to a foot injury later in the first half. Neither player returned after coming out of the game.
“Anytime you lose a player, it does hurt,” Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander said after the 21-0 loss to Pittsburgh. “But at the same time, we’ve got tons of talent. Our backups have always been able to come in and play well.
“I can’t make any excuse. I think Pittsburgh just had their way with us. Give them credit.”
Coach Mike Holmgren said that both injuries would be further evaluated today. Branch was wearing a boot after the game and could be in danger of seeing his 42 consecutive games without an injury come to an end. Strong hasn’t missed a game since 1999, with a current streak of 117 in a row.
The Steelers played the game without four injured starters: wide receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes, along with safety Troy Polamalu and defensive tackle Casey Hampton
Ward (injured knee), Polamalu (abdomen) and Hampton (thigh) were ruled inactive 90 minutes before kickoff. Holmes suffered a hamstring injury during pre-game warmups and was the only active Steelers player not to participate in the game.
While the Seahawks knew before kickoff that Polamalu and Hampton would not play, that didn’t change their game plan.
“When I saw the inactive list, it wasn’t like I took a deep breath,” Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “You know that those guys are going to come out, and they’re going to play great team defense.”
Hasselbeck wouldn’t use the losses of Strong and Branch as an excuse for his offense’s struggles.
Ben Obomanu saw extended playing time in place of Branch, catching two passes for 38 yards. Backup quarterback Seneca Wallace also saw time at receiver for the second week in a row before taking over for Hasselbeck late in the fourth quarter.
At fullback, Leonard Weaver replaced Strong and played most of the game. Weaver’s most visible play came on a pass-protection assignment that saw him knock off linebacker Clark Haggans’s helmet before getting beat for a sack. Weaver was flagged for an illegal-use-of-hands penalty on the play.
“That happens,” Weaver said. “I got a good pass pro on him, but it just so happened that my hand slipped up and got him in the facemask. That stuff happens in football.”
Linebacker Leroy Hill also came out of the game at least twice, but that was due to dehydration issues that stemmed from the 80-degree heat.
Taking offense: Hasselbeck exchanged words with Steelers safety Anthony Smith after one second-quarter play that saw Smith get flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Smith was coming in on a blitz, and he rolled toward Hasselbeck’s lower leg after the quarterback released the ball. Hasselbeck jumped to avoid getting injured, then fell on top of Smith. As the two got up, Hasselbeck had a spirited conversation with the Steelers safety.
“I said, ‘You almost ended my season,’” Hasselbeck said when asked after the game what the conversation had been about. “It wasn’t like I was angry, necessarily. It just felt like I dodged a bullet there.”
Asked about the play that led to the conversation, Hasselbeck said: “I don’t know what happened. I know someone hit me late around my knees. I don’t know if he got pushed or what.”
Two-headed monster: Both of Pittsburgh’s halfbacks victimized the Seahawks on Sunday.
Starter Willie Parker had 102 rushing yards, joining Arizona’s Edgerrin James as the only runners to go over 100 on Seattle’s defense. Backup Najeh Davenport had the longest run of the day, a 45-yarder, and also scored on two short touchdown runs.
Davenport had 58 yards on seven carries Sunday.
Clock management: Both Holmgren and Hasselbeck defended the clock management at the end of the first half by saying that they didn’t want to give the ball back to Pittsburgh with too much time on the clock.
Seattle had all three timeouts remaining going into their final drive of the second quarter, but didn’t use any of them.
“We lost a few seconds there; there’s no question about it,” Holmgren said. “But we got (the clock) down, and we had the play we wanted. We were prepared to call timeout right after that.”
The drive ended at the 14-yard line, where the Seahawks tried to throw a pass into the end zone with seven seconds left. That pass was intercepted, taking away the opportunity to try a field goal.
Asked about the decision not to use a timeout, Hasselbeck said: “You can’t take them with you (into the second half).”
Not the worst: Seattle’s offensive effort Sunday wasn’t bad enough to break any records.
While the Seahawks had just 144 total yards, that’s a lot better than the NFL-record minus-7 yards Seattle managed in a 1979 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
That game also marked the worst time of possession in team history: 14:28. Seattle held the ball for 19:15 on Sunday.
Letting ‘em off the hook: The Seahawks continue to struggle in third-down defense.
After Pittsburgh converted 8 of 15 on Sunday, Seattle opponent’s season percentage rose to 43.8 (32 of 73).
Quick slants: The Steelers’ 17-play, 80-yard drive at the start of the second half actually had a few more yards that didn’t count. Pittsburgh had 65 yards lost due to three holding penalties on that drive. … Since the beginning of the 2006 season, the Seahawks are 4-4 against teams with winning records and 8-5 against teams at or below .500. … Shaun Alexander’s 25 rushing yards marked his lowest total since gaining just 18 in a November 2002 loss to Denver.
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