SEATTLE – There were no cha-chings.

No defensive backs heckling, no coaches exploding and no fans groaning.

When the Carolina Panthers’ onside kickoff fell neatly into Marcus Trufant’s arms, the only sounds around Qwest Field were celebratory sighs of relief. After another near meltdown by the Seattle Seahawks, Trufant came to the rescue while saving himself in the process.

“Last year, guys teased me because in practice I tended to drop the ball a lot,” the Seahawks’ cornerback said after recovering the onside kick that assured Seattle’s 23-17 win over the Panthers on Sunday. “I’m trying to get rid of that rep. I don’t want to be known as the bat-down guy; I want to be known as the (interception) guy.”

Fortunately for the Seahawks, Trufant hung on when it counted – twice. After foiling another threat with a key fourth-quarter interception, Trufant smothered the final kickoff to help Seattle end its three-game slide.

Just like they had in a loss to St. Louis three weeks earlier, the Seahawks (4-3) controlled a game from the outset but almost let it slip away in the end. A 13-point, fourth-quarter lead got whittled down due to another blown coverage by the Seahawks secondary.

After Carolina scored a touchdown to get within 23-17 with 1:39 remaining, everything came down to the final onside kickoff.

As the ball sailed into his arms on what may have been the most important moment of the game, Trufant chased away the images of his teammates’ ridicule.

Seattle’s defensive backs have a good-natured competition of counting each other’s imperfections at practice, with each drop being tallied by the swoop of a raised index finger and a chorus of “cha-ching.”

Trufant was one of his team’s most frequent victims last season, when he got teased unceremoniously for having unreliable hands.

“Last year, he had the worst hands on the team,” teammate Ken Lucas said. “He might have two left hands. But his hands have straightened out a little bit this year.”

Even after he clinched Sunday’s win by catching the onside kick while playing on the “hands” team, Trufant couldn’t avoid ridicule.

“I really don’t know what the definition of ‘hands’ team is on this team,” Lucas joked as Trufant stood within earshot shaking his head. “We’ve got guys with better hands than the ones out there. But I’m just glad he recovered the ball.”

After avoiding another disaster at home Sunday, the Seahawks were able to celebrate for the first time since Sept. 26.

Seattle controlled the game most of the way because of a running game that featured Shaun Alexander’s 195 yards. Just as coach Mike Holmgren had promised all week, the Seahawks pounded the ball on the ground en route to a 237-94 advantage in rushing yards.

Alexander scored twice – on a run and a reception – as Seattle built up a 23-10 lead with 5:42 remaining in the game. Every time the Panthers would get within striking distance, they’d trip on their own tails. Ten penalties helped limit Carolina to a single touchdown as the clock ticked down to the final minutes.

But anyone who saw the Rams game three weeks earlier knew that the contest wasn’t over. St. Louis rallied from a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit to win in overtime, so no one at Qwest Field was willing to celebrate yet.

Carolina took possession of the ball and drove into Seattle territory before Trufant’s interception on the Seattle ended that threat. Trufant intercepted Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme’s pass at the Seahawks’ 10-yard line and returned the ball 58 yards to the Carolina 32-yard line. Holder Matt Hasselbeck bobbled the snap to botch a field-goal attempt and give the Panthers the ball back again with 2:04 left on the clock.

On the first play from scrimmage, Delhomme launched a 63-yard pass to Keary Colbert, who had beaten Lucas down the left sideline. Colbert caught the ball just inside the Seattle 10, then stumbled on his way towards the end zone and was touched down at the 2.

After two incomplete passes and a penalty, the Panthers were looking at third-and-goal from the 7 with 1:45 to go. Delhomme rolled right and zipped a pass to Muhsin Muhammad, who caught the ball at the goal line and appeared to be tackled at the Seattle 1. Officials looked at the replay and ruled that Muhammad had possession of the ball in the end zone before being pushed out, and the touchdown helped Carolina get within 23-17 with 1:39 left in regulation.

The Panthers (1-6) were out of timeouts, so their only course of action was an onside kick. John Kasay’s pooch kick sailed high in the air, right toward Trufant. Seattle’s 23-year-old cornerback caught it and fell to the turf before a pair of Panthers arrived to crash on top of him.

Seattle’s offense knelt down three times as the final 1:38 ticked off, giving them the win after another nail-biting game at home.

“You would like to not be as nervous at the end,” Trufant said. “But any way we can get the victory, that’s all right with us.”

Having lost their previous three games, the Seahawks were in danger of falling from the list of contenders had they lost. But the victory pushes them into a tie with St. Louis atop the NFC West standings.

“I felt like we really had to have this,” defensive tackle Cedric Woodard said. “We knew we really had to get something going with this win. It got kind of shaky at the end, but we stuck to the plan, and it all worked out.”

For Holmgren, the game looked all too familiar. The Rams’ incredible rally to victory on Oct. 10 ended Seattle’s 11-game home winning streak. Sunday looked like it might start another streak – this time of losses – until the Seahawks officially closed the deal.

“Dj vu all over again,” Holmgren said as he walked into the post-game press conference. “Anyone nervous?”

They could laugh at it in the end, but Seattle’s victory was a bit too close for comfort.

“You just look at games of the past, where somehow, someway things have just slipped out of our hands,” fullback Heath Evans said. “We grew up a lot today. We got it done when we had to, and we got the W.”

For the first time in more than a month, the Seahawks were able to swoop their finger in the imaginary win column, and chalk up a victory.

Cha-ching