PHILADELPHIA – If Lofa Tatupu was flying under the radar in the race for NFL rookie of the year, his performance on national television Monday definitely ended his journey through anonymity.
The Seattle Seahawks’ rookie linebacker was all over the field, with a team-high nine tackles, an interception and his first NFL touchdown to lead a Seahawks defense that helped paste Philadelphia 42-0 on Monday Night Football.
Tatupu continues to lead the team in tackles for the season and has a good shot of being the first Seattle rookie to finish a season as the leading tackler since Terry Beeson did it in 1977.
“Maybe I was overlooked,” Tatupu said of his performance Monday. “I noticed they were double-teaming our (defensive linemen), and that’s a credit to what our guys are doing up front. I was able to cut through some gaps and make a couple plays here and there.”
At the tender age of 23, Tatupu continues to serve as the leader of a defense that has answered the bell every time the Seattle offense has struggled. The Seahawks held Philadelphia to just 190 yards of offense Monday while handing the Eagles their first shutout since the 2003 season opener.
Most of Monday’s second half was probably unwatchable, but Tatupu made his mark well before millions of television channels were changed. He made back-to-back tackles in short-yardage situations, stuffing Philadelphia running back Brian Westbrook on consecutive plays to force a punt. On the Eagles’ next drive, he stepped in front of a Mike McMahon pass and ran untouched into the end zone. He capped off the 38-yard touchdown return by landing a combination of punches to the padded goal post – a la former San Francisco linebacker Ken Norton Jr.
“I wanted to show that I didn’t forget about my boys at SC,” Tatupu said, referring to USC’s win over Norton’s alma mater, UCLA, on Saturday. “I called (Norton) before the game and said I was going to take one to the house. I said, ‘Watch my dance; I’ve got one ready for you.’ That was for you, Kenny.”
The goal post got off easy. Tatupu did most of his damage to the chin of the Eagles’ offense.
“He’s playing like he’s been in the league six, seven years,” teammate Grant Wistrom said. “He’s doing a hell of a job.”
Dancing some more: Running back Shaun Alexander added two more touchdowns, giving him a league-high 22 on the season. He needs five more to tie the all-time NFL record of 27 touchdowns in a season, set by Priest Holmes in 2003.
Alexander also moved one step closer to the NFL rushing title, with his 49 yards Monday giving him a league-high 1,388 for the season. Alexander rested most of the second half, but he still leads Edgerrin James of the Indianapolis Colts by 41 yards in the race for the league rushing title.
Coach Mike Homgren said Alexander had no beef with being taken out of the ame.
”He was really great,” Homgren said. ”He wanted to play one more series, but goodness me, it was 42-0.”
“I was begging to stay,” Alexander said. “Whenever your team is playing well you want to stay in.
“He (Holmgren) told me at halftime he was going to take me out early. So I knew.”
A harmless Kearse: Seahawks right tackle Sean Locklear slayed another dragon Monday night, effectively blocking Eagles defensive end Jevon Kearse throughout the game. Kearse did not record a sack, and he rarely got much pressure on Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.
It marked the fourth week in a row that Locklear has faced a player with Pro Bowl credentials. He had held Leonard Little, Bryant Young and Michael Strahan without sacks in the previous three games.
Locklear, who flipped over to left tackle late in the third quarter to give Walter Jones a rest, wasn’t the only Seahawks lineman to have success Monday. After struggling with Philadelphia’s blitz package in each of the past two meetings, Seattle gave Hasselbeck all sorts of time in Monday’s win. Hasselbeck was not sacked despite playing late into the third quarter.
Remember Jerramy? After going without a single catch in last week’s win over the New York Giants, tight end Jerramy Stevens was the focal point of Seattle’s offense on the opening drive Monday.
Stevens caught passes on the first three plays of the game, then added a fourth reception on the fifth play. But he didn’t catch another pass all night.
For starters: The Seahawks opened Monday’s game with their longest scoring drive in terms of both plays (16) and time of possession (8:10).
But after that drive, which covered 65 yards and included five first downs, Seattle had just 129 yards of offense and nine first downs the rest of the night.
Brrrrrrrr: The 31-degree temperature at kickoff matched the sixth-coldest game in Seahawks history.
The cold weather and steady snowfall did nothing to cool off the Seahawks, who breezed out to a 35-0 halftime lead and cleared out most of the sellout crowd with another touchdown 15 seconds into the second half.
Quick slants: Defensive end Joe Tafoya got his first start, while Bryce Fisher saw limited action due to a sore foot. Tafoya had his first sack of the season, forcing a fumble that was recovered by teammate Marcus Tubbs. According to the Tacoma News Tribune, defensive tackle Rocky Bernard missed the team flight Sunday morning and had to pay for his own transportation before joining the team Sunday night.
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