Seahawks Finish Regular Season With a Win

Heading into their regular season finale against Tampa Bay on the road, the Seattle Seahawks were riding a three-game losing streak and the hope was that by playing the starters in this meaningless game they would find some consistency. Well consider that mission accomplished as the Seahawks dominated the game from start to finish winning 23-7 to finish the regular season 9-7.

RB Shaun Alexander ran for 92 yards and one touchdown and QB Matt Hasselbeck completed 59% of his passes for 216 yards and another touchdown, keying the victory and improving the mood of Seattle’s head coach Mike Holmgren as they head into the postseason.

WR D.J. Hackett also had a big day for the Seahawks hauling in four passes for 63 yards and a touchdown. Hackett appeared to make a circus catch late in the first half for a touchdown, but it was ruled that he lost possession as he hit the ground and therefore it was an incomplete pass.

Four plays later Hackett redeemed himself with a shoelace grab in the middle of the endzone to put Seattle a 10-point lead heading into the half.

The Seahawks had little to play for after clinching the NFC West title and assuring themselves of a home playoff game at Qwest Field, but Holmgren wanted to establish a tempo and consistency before the post-season.

Seattle’s defense also had a good day as they caused two fumbles, including one inside their own ten and stopped the Buccaneers on down at their own three late in the third quarter.

Former Seahawks WR Joey Galloway was one of the few bright spots for Tampa Bay, finishing with eight receptions for 118 yards and scoring Tampa Bay's only touchdown on a 4-yard catch in the second quarter against a depleted Seahawks secondary.

With his yardage today, Galloway exceeded 1,000 yards for the fourth time in his 12-year career. The other three times he accomplished that feat were during his five years in Seattle.

All season the Seahawks have battled injuries and after losing starting CB Marcus Trufant to a high-ankle sprain in last week’s loss to San Diego, they lost two more defensive backs to leg injuries as Kelly Herndon broke his ankle and backup Jimmy Williams was hurt as well.

LB Leroy Hill also left the game with a concussion and his status is unknown for next week’s first-round playoff game.

Tampa Bay QB Tim Rattay completed 16 of 27 passes for 185 yards in his second start for the Buccaneers, but it wasn’t enough to push the home team to the win.

Now Seattle prepares to host a playoff game for the third-straight season and will face Dallas at 5 p.m. on Saturday.