Sep 9, 2007, 23:39 GMT
Seattle, WA - Matt Hasselbeck completed 17-of-24 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown, and the Seattle Seahawks recovered from a slow start to top the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 20-6, in the season opener for both clubs.
Shaun Alexander gained 105 yards on 27 carries with a score, and Bobby Engram had three catches for 64 yards for the Seahawks (1-0), who pulled away thanks to a 34-yard touchdown strike from Hasselbeck to fullback Maurice Morris early in the fourth quarter.
The big blow for the Buccaneers (0-1) was the loss of running back Carnell Williams, who left in the third quarter with bruised ribs after gaining 60 yards on 12 carries. Jeff Garcia, in his debut as starting quarterback, completed 19-of-27 passes for 201 yards, but missed parts of two drives in the second half with an apparent head injury. Joey Galloway had five catches for 72 yards for Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden said after the game that Garcia will be fine, and that Williams will be evaluated on Monday.
'I was pleased with some of the things we did. Obviously we struggled with the pass protection,' said Gruden. The Seahawks notched five sacks against the Bucs.
Ahead by only a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks faced a crucial third-and-five from the Tampa Bay 34-yard-line. Instead of securing an easy field goal attempt, Hasselbeck and the Seahawks offense went for the home run, and the Seattle QB found Morris alone streaking down the sideline for a 34-yard touchdown pass, giving the Seahawks a 20-6 lead with 7:55 left.
Garcia drove the Bucs back into Seattle territory on the ensuing drive, but Earnest Graham fumbled on a nine-yard reception at the Seattle 21, and the Seahawks ran all but 18 seconds of the clock off with a steady diet of Alexander.
'They are a good defense, everyone knows that,' said Alexander of the Bucs. 'They are going to stop the run and pressure the quarterback. It just took us a while to catch up.'
The Buccaneers offense got off to an inauspicious start, thanks to a Williams fumble near midfield on the opening drive of the game. The Tampa Bay defense held, though, and Garcia marched the Bucs deep into the Seattle territory. The veteran QB hooked up with Galloway on a 49-yard strike, but the drive stalled at the Seattle 20-yard-line. Matt Bryant banged home a 38-yard field goal, giving the Bucs a 3-0 lead with 8:56 left in the first.
Garcia again marched the Tampa offense down the field on the next drive, finding Ike Hilliard for 28 yards to get the Bucs out of the shadow of their own goalposts, and hooking up with Alex Smith for 17 yards, taking them into Seahawks territory. Again the Bucs stalled in the red zone, though, and settled for a 32-yarder by Bryant.
The Seahawks offense finally put something together midway through the second quarter, thanks to a 49-yard strike from Hasselbeck to Engram on a third- and-12, setting Seattle up at the Tampa Bay 7. The Seahawks didn't gain another yard on the drive, though, and Josh Brown hit a 28-yard field goal to make it a 6-3 game with 2:39 left in the first half.
Nate Burleson provided the spark the Seahawks needed, returning the next punt he received 56 yards to the Tampa Bay 14. Three plays later Alexander dove in from one yard out to give the Seahawks a 10-6 lead with 50 seconds left in the half.
Brown's 46-yard field goal extended the Seattle lead to 13-6 in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
Game Notes
Garcia failed to extend Gruden's hold on a record among active coaches: 10 different quarterbacks have started and won at least one game under Gruden...Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren improved to 15-4 against the Buccaneers...Luke McCown came on when Garcia left, and completed 1-of-4 passes for nine yards.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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