Seahawks Run Past Chargers, 27-20, Thanks To 2 Leon Washington Touchdowns

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll admitted after his team’s Week 3 win over the San Diego Chargers that the overly-aggressive execution at the end of the first half was his fault, writes Greg Johns of the Seattle PI.

“We didn’t handle the end of the half effectively and I was disappointed in that. I really didn’t do that well,” he said. "Honestly, I realized that after all those years at USC with our offenses being so dynamic and all, I got a little bold about our situations.

“We need to take care of business better. I need to do a better job and make sure we get our points when we get opportunities. They’re not always going to come back around again like it used to seem like it happened.

Danny O’Neil of the Seattle Times sums up exactly what happened and how it went wrong.

To review, Seattle had the ball at the San Diego 2 with 19 seconds left in the second quarter. The Seahawks ran Matt Hasselbeck, who was tackled at the 1. Seattle tried to shuttle its field-goal unit onto the field to attempt a kick, only to have time expire before the ball was snapped.

It was aggressive. In hindsight, it was too aggressive.

“I like the thought … we stuff it at ’em and knock it in the end zone and get a touchdown right there,” Carroll said. “But we really, in that instance, we’d like to have had a fourth-down opportunity, too, and that eliminated it.”

That kind of execution is easy to laugh off after a victory. Had the Seahawks failed to get two Leon Washington returns? The joke, and the heat, would be on Carroll in a big way.

Seattle, WA (Sports Network) – Leon Washington returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns, including the go-ahead 99-yard burst with 6:24 remaining in the fourth quarter, as the Seattle Seahawks held off San Diego, 27-20, at Qwest Field.

Washington, who was traded to Seattle from the New York Jets in April, rumbled a team-record 101 yards for a score in the third quarter for the Seahawks, who forced five turnovers. Two of those were interceptions by rookieEarl Thomas, including a pick of Philip Rivers inside the Seattle 10-yard line in the waning seconds.

Matt Hasselbeck completed 19-of-32 passes for 220 yards with a TD and an interception for Seattle (2-1), which upended the Chargers for the sixth time in the last seven meetings.

"It's important for us to show that we can play against a team like this," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "Leon was just magical today."

Rivers threw for a career-high 455 yards, going 29-of-53 with two scores and the two interceptions. Antonio Gates had seven receptions for 109 yards and a TD for the Chargers (1-2), who played a good portion of the game without star linebacker Shawne Merriman. He suffered a calf injury in the first quarter.

"Every team has issues, we have issues, we have to protect the football and cover kickoffs," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "We have some young guys who have not been as consistent as they should be. We need to make some personnel changes. If you turn the ball over you are underachieving, we cannot make that many turnovers."

Thomas' first interception of the day led to Olindo Mare's 23-yard field goal with 11:27 left in the fourth quarter, expanding the Seahawks' lead to 20-12.

The Chargers then overcame a pair of penalties to tie the game. Rivers engineered a nine-play, 65-yard march, finishing it with a 12-yard TD pass to Gates in the middle of the end zone. The catch came after Gates made an end zone reception from two yards out, as offensive tackle Brandyn Dombrowski was whistled for holding. On the two-point conversion try, Legedu Naanee made the end zone catch, but was ruled to go out of bounds first. On the next play though, Rivers hooked up with Naanee in the right side of the end zone to even the score with 6:39 remaining.

Washington, though received the ensuing kickoff and stayed on his feet despite being hit by Jacob Hester while running up the middle. Washington then raced past defenders for his sixth career kickoff return for a touchdown.

On the ensuing San Diego possession, Rivers led the Chargers to the Seattle 19, but a fourth down pass toPatrick Crayton was knocked away in the end zone by cornerback Roy Lewis with 2:28 left.

The Chargers, though, forced a punt and got the ball back with 1:38 left. Rivers moved his team from the San Diego 45 to the Seattle 17, but the drive stalled. On 4th-and-15, Rivers threw toward the end zone for Naanee, but Thomas came up with the ball at the five and was tackled at the Seattle 26 to seal the outcome.

Naanee fumbled the ball away on San Diego's first possession of the game and Seattle broke on top early in the second on Mare's 23-yard field goal.

San Diego had another miscue, this time costing the Chargers points in the second quarter. David Hawthornestripped Mike Tolbert of the ball at the Seattle five and Red Bryant recovered for the Seahawks.

Deion Branch then scored on a 42-yard pass play from Hasselbeck with 1:38 left in the half, but the Chargers challenged the call as free safety Paul Oliver punched the ball away just as Branch was crossing the goal line. San Diego won the challenge and got the ball at the 20, as it went out of the back of the end zone.

After a punt, though, Seattle did expand its lead to 10-0 on Hasselbeck's nine-yard TD connection to tight endJohn Carlson with 53 seconds left in the half.

The Seahawks forced another fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but ran out of time for a field goal try while at the San Diego two.

After Washington ran back the second-half kickoff for a score, Rivers got the Chargers within 17-7 on a three-yard TD pass to Malcolm Floyd. It came one play after a Buster Davis 49-yard catch.

Brandon Siler sacked Hasselbeck in the end zone for a safety with 4 1/2 minutes left in the third and Nate Kaeding split the uprights from 29 yards away to get the Chargers within five points going to the fourth.

Mare extended his team record with his 24th straight made field goal...Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufantleft the game with an ankle injury, while Chargers guard Louis Vasquez departed with a knee injury...Floyd had six catches for 97 yards...Tolbert rushed 17 times for 73 yards, while Justin Forsett led the Seattle ground game with 63 yards on 17 attempts...San Diego had 518 yards of offense...The two kickoff returns for TDs ties an NFL record.

Matt Hasselbeck found John Carlson in the back of the end zone late in the second quarter to finally break the dry spell for the Seahawks.

The Chargers fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up the Seahawks deep in San Diego territory. In another moment of ineptitude, the Seahawks ran a quarterback draw on third down near the goal line with under 10 seconds left. The field goal unit rushed onto the field, but couldn’t get a kick off before the half.

It’s halftime in Seattle and the Seahawks lead the Chargers 10-0.

Deion Branch made a nice catch, turned the ball upfield and was headed in for the score just before the half. Instead, his careless ball security led to a fumble out of the back of the end zone, resulting in a touchback.

Huge swing in momentum for the Chargers as they were poised to go down two scores to end the half. It’s ugly in Seattle, with turnovers marring the play.

With just over a minute left in the half, it’s 3-0 Seahawks.

Mike Williams is back in the game after injuring his shoulder. Immediately after his return, Matt Hasselbeck woefully under-threw a jump ball to Williams, leading to a San Diego Chargers interception.

Aaron Curry is on the sidelines with an apparent leg injury. His status for the rest of the game is unknown.

According to the CBS broadcast, San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman left Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks with a calf injury during the first quarter and will not return.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Mike Williams is listed as questionable to return with a shoulder injury.

ESPN's Mike Sando also reported the San Diego Chargers' inactive list ahead of today's game at Qwest Field.

Matthews is still nursing an ankle injury suffered in the Chargers' win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Without Matthews, the Chargers will rely on backup Matthew Tolbert to shoulder the load in the run-game.

ESPN's NFC West blogger Mike Sando released the Seahawks inactives for their week three matchup against the San Diego Chargers.

Leroy Hill is nursing an Achilles injury while facing another suspension from the NFL. Okung is making progress in his recovery from a high-ankle sprain suffered in training camp. Okung was on the field doing individual work ahead of today's game.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting Leroy Hill is facing a two- or three-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Hill was arrested April 12, about two weeks after pleading guilty to a marijuana charge, after a late-night incident with his girlfriend at their home near Seattle. Hill later made a deal in court to have the charges dropped if he completed a domestic-violence prevention program and has no criminal violations in the last 18 months.

The suspension would be on top of the one-game suspension he’s already served. Hill is currently out, and will miss “significant” time, with an Achilles' injury.

(Sports Network) - Qwest Field, the Seattle Seahawks' raucous home facility, carries a special type of magic for the building's primary tenants. That magic was on display in Week 1, when the Hawks opened the Pete Carroll era with a 31-6 throttling of a San Francisco 49ers team that many had pegged to be the NFC West's top team in 2010.

And it's a good thing for Seattle, which plays host to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, that it can tap into a little electricity within its home confines. Because, as displayed in last week's 31-14 loss at the Denver Broncos, this team remains Samson with a buzz-cut when it leaves the Pacific Northwest.

The Seahawks are now 1-9 in their last 10 games away from Qwest Field, with every one of the nine defeats coming by double-digits.

Last Sunday's 17-point setback was a total team effort, and not in a good way.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw three interceptions to mitigate any good he did on a 20-of-35, 233-yard, one-touchdown day, and a holding penalty by tackle Sean Locklear wiped a first-quarter Seahawks touchdown on the board.

Defensively, the Hawks allowed Kyle Orton to throw for 307 yards and a pair of touchdowns, failing to force a turnover all day and helping make an instant star out of a rookie wide receiver playing in his first NFL game,Demaryius Thomas (8 receptions, 97 yards, 1 TD).

Just for good measure, the special teams struggled as well, with a muffed punt by rookie return man Walter Thurmond helping set the Broncos up for their first touchdown of the day.

The homestanding Seahawks will be looking to get well on Sunday against a Chargers team that washed away the residue of an opening-night loss by throttling the Jacksonville Jaguars, 38-13.

The offense churned up 477 yards of total offense despite an ankle injury that limited running back Ryan Mathews to five carries. Fullback Mike Tolbert stepped in capably with 16 carries for 82 yards and two touchdowns in the win, though it was Philip Rivers and the passing attack who did most of the heavy lifting for the Chargers in their home opener.

Rivers completed 22-of-29 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns to go along with two interceptions, jettisoning the red-zone troubles that had plagued the team against in a 21-14 loss at Kansas City six days earlier. Two of Rivers' TD passes went to tight end Antonio Gates (5 receptions, 57 yards), and another went toMalcom Floyd (3 receptions, 95 yards) on a 54-yard exclamation point in the fourth quarter.

The San Diego defense did its part by forcing six turnovers in the win, including two interceptions and a forced fumble for cornerback Antoine Cason.

SERIES HISTORY

The Seahawks have a 25-23 edge in their all-time series with the Chargers, but had a five-game winning streak in the series snapped with San Diego's 20-17 triumph at Qwest Field in Week 16 of the 2006 season. The Seahawks' last win over the Chargers came in 2002, a 31-28 overtime affair at Qualcomm Stadium, and Seattle swept their then-AFC West rival in both 2000 and 2001.

Chargers head coach Norv Turner is 0-3 in his career against the Seahawks, with all of the meetings dating back to his tenure with the Washington Redskins (1994-2000). The Seahawks' Carroll is 1-1 in his career against the Chargers, including a loss for his Jets in 1994 and a win for his Patriots in 1997. Turner and Carroll will be meeting for the first time head-to-head.

WHEN THE CHARGERS HAVE THE BALL

The Chargers are likely to be very cautious with Mathews (101 rushing yards, 3 receptions) at this early stage of the season, and the work that Tolbert (108 rushing yards, 2 TD) did in his place last week will help enable that line of thinking. The 5-9, 243-pound Tolbert is averaging 5.2 yards per carry over his three-year career in San Diego, and is also capable of catching the ball out of the backfield. Darren Sproles (40 rushing yards, 6 receptions), who had 100 yards on just nine offensive touches last week, is a dangerous change-of-pace option. But Seattle's primary concern will probably lie with Rivers and the passing game, which had the Jaguars on their heels throughout the afternoon despite the continued absence of wideout Vincent Jackson. Former first-round draft choice Buster Davis (7 receptions) made a long-awaited contribution to the tune of five catches for 48 yards. An offensive line still without tackle Marcus McNeill, who is embroiled in a contract dispute with the team, has allowed just three sacks through the first two weeks.

After holding a talented 49ers offense out of the end zone for 60 minutes in their opener, the Seahawks defense took a step back against the Broncos last Sunday. The secondary that failed to offer much resistance to Thomas and the Denver receivers must step up its game here, with cornerbacks Marcus Trufant (8 tackles, 1 INT) andKelly Jennings (10 tackles) among those on notice. Safeties Lawyer Milloy (11 tackles) and Earl Thomas (13 tackles) were 1-2 in stops for Seattle last week. The pass rush had just one sack of Orton in Week 2, that coming from ex-Colt Raheem Brock (4 tackles, 1 sack). On the bright side, the run defense remained consistent, shutting down a Broncos ground attack that averaged a laughable 1.7 yards per carry for the afternoon. Linemen Colin Cole (9 tackles), Brandon Mebane (6 tackles) and Kentwan Balmer (3 tackles) were all active in the victory, with linebackers Lofa Tatupu (13 tackles) and Aaron Curry (9 tackles) combining for 11 stops while working behind them. Seattle is fifth in the league against the run as Week 3 begins.

WHEN THE SEAHAWKS HAVE THE BALL

As shown last week, the Seattle passing game remains a work in progress, with Hasselbeck (403 passing yards, 3 TD, 4 INT) making his mistakes as he tries to find chemistry with a new-look receiving corps. Mike Williams (5 receptions) leads the wideouts in receiving yards (71) through two games, but had just one catch last week. Veteran Deion Branch leads that corps in catches (7), but is averaging just six yards per catch. Meanwhile, Deon Butler (6 receptions, 1 TD) was active with five receptions for 50 yards in Week 2; Ben Obomanu (3 receptions) caught Hasselbeck's lone TD pass; and rookie Golden Tate had a 52- yard grab last week that ranks as the only catch of his NFL career so far. Oh, and tight end John Carlson leads the club in receptions (8) and receiving yards (84) as Week 3 begins. Four different running backs carried the football for Seattle last week, with Justin Forsett (87 rushing yards, 4 receptions) receiving the most touches on a day that saw him amass 44 yards on just eight totes. The offensive line continues to miss first-round rookie left tackleRussell Okung (ankle), but has allowed just two sacks through the first two weeks.

One week after turnovers were too big a part of the story for the Seahawks, they'll be seeing a Charger defense that made big plays from start to finish a week ago. The cornerback Cason (11 tackles, 2 INT), a former first-round pick, had an eye-opening day as did safety Steve Gregory (20 tackles), who tallied a game-high 13 tackles. The pass rush generated a couple of sacks, though neither went to pass rushers Shawne Merriman (3 tackles) and Shaun Phillips (7 tackles, 1 sack). But the team's most impressive defensive work may have been done by the run defense, which shut down Jags running backs Maurice Jones-Drew and Rashad Jennings for just 71 combined yards on 24 carries on the day. Linebackers Kevin Burnett (11 tackles, 1 INT) and Brandon Siler were a major part of that effort. Burnett had five tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery in the win while Siler, subbing for the injured Stephen Cooper (knee), finished with six tackles and a pick. Cooper remains a question mark for this week. Up front, end Jacques Cesaire (4 tackles) made a difference with three stops and a sack versus Jacksonville.

FANTASY FOCUS

Rivers and Gates remain among the most reliable players in the league at their positions, from both a fantasy and real-life standpoint. They'll put up numbers here. The rest of San Diego's offensive personnel is problematic, as Rivers has been spreading the ball around to different receivers and Mathews' injury casts some doubt on the rushing situation. The Seahawks have stopped two pretty good backs - Frank Gore and Maurice Jones-Drew - so it might be a good week to leave Chargers running backs on the bench anyway. Kicker Nate Kaeding is always a good regular season play, and there's no reason to bench a Charger defense that scored a ton of points for fantasy owners last Sunday.

On the Seattle side, there are no first-rate fantasy plays to speak of, with Hasselbeck too mistake-prone at this point and no other player guaranteed a high number of touches.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

The Seahawks have more new faces than any team in the league and are very much a work in progress, but as shown in their Week 1 blowout of the 49ers are capable of playing winning football, especially at home. It will be critical for Seattle to stay out of turnovers in Week 3, but if they do, there's no reason to think they'll get blown off of Qwest Field. There's little question that the Chargers have superior talent to the Seahawks, but this is a team that has rarely played great football in September under Norv Turner, and has just about never done so on back-to-back weeks. Look for the Bolts to slide back into complacency mode this week, and for the Seahawks to punish them by scoring a narrow victory.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Seahawks 24, Chargers 22

Blazers PR man Kris Koivisto sent out word tonight on Twitter that former Seattle Sonics great, and current Portland Trailblazers coach, Nate McMillan will raise the 12th man flag Sunday at Qwest Field.

McMillan spent all 12 of his playing years with the Sonics, before retiring and working his way up the coaching ladder in Seattle. After a successful tenure as head coach of the Sonics, he joined the Trailblazers following the 2005 season.

I'm sure many can't wait to see McMillan back in Seattle on Sunday.

The Seahawks take on the Chargers this Sunday at 1:15 p.m.

ESPN's Bill Simmons recommends betting on the Seattle Seahawks over the San Diego Chargers in their game Sunday afternoon at Seattle's Qwest Field. The Chargers are 5.5 point road favorites.

SEAHAWKS (+5.5) over Chargers
Redskins (-3.5) over RAMS
I thought the Redskins should have traded for Vincent Jackson. Why not? They're already spending $168 million this season ... what's another six-year, $42 million deal with a $20 million signing bonus and two picks at this point? The good news: Things became so contentious that Jackson's agent ripped Chargers GM A.J. Smith to shreds and claimed that other GMs derisively call Smith "The Lord of No Rings," which immediately moved ahead of Michael "'70s" Bush and Tim "Virgin Air" Tebow as the best name of the 2010 season. The Lord of No Rings. You're never shedding that one, A.J. It's like a tattoo.    

950 KJR's Curtis Crabtree dropped a few Seahawks injury notes on Twitter. Russell Okung is still out, Leroy Hill is out with an Achilles injury and Sean Locklear and E.J. Wilson both were added to the report with knee injuries.

The Seahawks take on the Chargers at Qwest Field on Sunday at 1:15 p.m.

Here's the NFL Week 3 television broadcast coverage map for the San Diego Chargers at the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle's Qwest Field on Sunday, Sept. 26.

Kickoff is at 1:15 PM on CBS. The CBS broadcasting team will be Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts.

Liz Mathews of MyNorthwest.com writes that Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll admits that the Seahawks did not play well during Week 2 because they were on the road at Denver.

“We didn’t take our game on the road, really is what was obvious,” he said. “I know that we can do the things that the philosophy is built around, about taking care of the football and playing tough defense and special teams and making great decisions, we need to recreate that again this week in the preparation and take it to game day.”

Carroll also said he hopes to bounce back in Week 3, as the team returns home to Qwest Field to host the San Diego Chargers.

“Coming back home to Qwest Field is a really big deal for us, obviously, and everybody around the league is facing different scenarios. We’re facing what we got to bounce back from what happened last week. We know that we can play good football, we can do good things, and we need to figure out how to get that done this week.”

Jeff Nusser of SBN Seattle writes that the Seattle Seahawks showed in their Week 2 loss to the Denver Broncos that they have the talent to compete this season if they executve properly.

So, while I wasn't real happy at around 4 p.m. on Sunday, I wasn't as despondent as a 17-point loss probably would have otherwise left me. The problems the Seahawks had were mental, not physical, and are thus correctable. Hasselbeck's interceptions? Correctable. Calling a 3-man front defensive alignment on a goal-to-go play from the 3? Correctable. Poor tackling? Correctable. Aaron Curry whiffing on a quarterback sack? Okay, never mind - we won't get carried away.

But you get the point. And based on what I've seen from this coaching staff already -- which is more than I saw cumulatively out of Jim Mora's staff last year -- I actually have some guarded optimism that the issues will be addressed and -- get this -- cleaned up.

What seemed like a minor calf strain turned out to be something more serious for Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill. Danny O'Neil reported on Twitter that Hill has an Achilles injury and will miss "significant time."

Between the offseason arrests, subsequent one-game suspension, the pay cut he was forced to take and now this injury, it's not been a good year for Hill.

Danny Sheridan of USA Today has opened the line for Sunday’s NFL Week 3 game between the San Diego Chargers and Seattle Seahawks in Seattle’s Qwest Field with the Chargers being 5.5 point favorites.

The Over/Under has been set at 44 points.

Both teams are 1-1 on the season.

Liz Mathews of 710 ESPN’s Seahawks Blog writes with updates on two injured Seattle Seahawks: linebacker Leroy Hill and rookie offensive lineman Russell Okung.

In team injury news, Leroy Hill was the only player who came home injured from the game. Carroll reported that it was a strained calf, and that Hill is in a boot and will be out for “a bit.”

Okung, Seattle’s prized first round draft pick, suffered a high ankle sprain during the preseason was initially expected back for Week 1 but is reportedly still in the recovery process, Mathews writes.

And as of this week, Russell Okung will be running “on land” instead of working out on the treadmill.

“This would mean if he handles it well this week, then next week he has a chance to start practicing with us and really get going,” said Carroll. “I can’t tell you what that means until we see him but that’s a good sign. So we’re feeling real good about it, he’s excited about it and wants to get going.”

Earlier this morning we noted some rumbling that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck’s interceptions were slowly revving up calls for him to be benched.

John Morgan of SB Nation’s Field Gulls writes that the excuses for Matt Hasselbeck’s poor play have already worn thin.

The Seahawks are not dependent on Matt Hasselbeck to win the NFC West. The formula, as it has been since this team was constructed, is: good run defense, an opportunistic secondary, good special teams and a functional offense. The Seahawks run defense has been superb, ranking third in yards per attempt allowed, 2.0, and allowing only nine first downs (11th tied) in 57 attempts. The secondary converted two interceptions into touchdowns against the 49ers. Marcus Trufant returned one pick for an instant score. Jordan Babineaux returned another pick to the 13, and Seattle scored on the next play. Olindo Mare is still booting them, and Golden Tate has the look of a superstar return man. The formula is in place, and the formula is in no way dependent on Hasselbeck.

Benching Matt Hasselbeck is not an admission of defeat.

Jeff Nusser of SB Nation Seattle writes that Seahawks cornerback Kelly Jennings was a major reason that Seattle struggled to defend the pass on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.

Jennings was back to his old self on Sunday, being discarded like the paper weight he is by more physical receivers, tripping over his own feet, and failing to locate the ball in the air in the few instances he actually was in position. Rookie Demaryius Thomas - who, incidentally, didn't catch a single pass in the opener - made the third-year corner look positively awful.

With two years of evidence that tells us Kelly Jennings isn't good, it's probably wise that we remember that.