2006 Seattle Seahawks season

*Game time: 4:15 PM EDT/1:15 PM PDT
*Game weather: 65 °F (Sunny)
*Stadium: Qwest Field
*Television commentators (FOX): Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
*Game attendance: 68,161

The Seahawks held on to defeat the New York Giants 42-30 after leading 42-3 going into the 4th quarter. Prior to the game the Giants had complained to the NFL about the level of crowd noise at Qwest Field and suggested that some of the noise was artificial. Last year the Giants were called for 11 false start penalties in a 24-21 overtime loss at Seattle. The complaint became public and the predictable result was a boisterous Seattle crowd and inspired play from the team.

One day after the game, the Seahawks reported that MVP Running Back Shaun Alexander had a cracked bone in his foot that would sideline him for a few weeks.

Week 4: at Chicago Bears

*Game time: 4:15 PM EDT/1:15 PM PDT
*Game weather: 60 °F (Sunny)
*Stadium: Qwest Field
*Television commentators (FOX): Dick Stockton and Darryl Johnston
*Game attendance: 68,118

The return of Steve Hutchinson had the 12th man at Qwest Field in a frenzy. A knee injury to Matt Hasselbeck early in the second half silenced them. An early 72 yard TD reception by Darrell Jackson staked the Seahawks to a 7-3 lead, but the Vikings scored a TD of their own in the second quarter and the teams went to the half tied at 10. On the Hawks first possession of the 3rd quarter, Vikings LB E.J. Henderson rolled onto Hasselbeck's right leg and sent the QB to the turf well after he had released the ball. Hasselbeck left the field with the assistance of trainers, and did not return. Seneca Wallace took over at QB, completing 14 of 25 passes with two interceptions and a fumble in his own endzone. The Hawks gave up a 15 yard TD pass from RB Mewelde Moore to TE Jermaine Wiggins to trail 17-10 as Hasselbeck was walking to the locker room. They looked to have weathered the storm and recaptured momentum when punter Ryan Plackemeier pinned the Vikings on their own 5 yard line. The next play resulted in the Vikings' longest ever TD play, a 95 yard romp by Chester Taylor that brought back memories of Bo and the Boz. Suddenly the deficit was 14 points. The Hawks drove for an FG to cut the lead to 11, but a failure to convert a 4th and 1 play on the next drive ended any hope of pulling out the game. The loss ended the Seahawks' 12 game winning streak at home.

An MRI scan on Hasselbeck's knee revealed a second degree sprain and he missed 4 games.

Week 8: at Kansas City Chiefs

*Game time: 4:15 PM EST/1:15 PM PST
*Game weather: 48 °F (Rain)
*Stadium: Qwest Field
*Television commentators (FOX): Matt Vasgersian and J.C. Pearson
*Game attendance: 68,175

On a windy, rainy Sunday the Seahawks hosted the Rams looking to take an effective 3 game lead in the division with a win. The Seahawks drove the ball easily on their first possession, moving to the Ram 1 yard line. After a false start penalty, Seneca Wallace was sacked and fumbled, and the Rams returned the ball 89 yards for a touchdown. The Seahawks drove down the field again, this time maintaining possession to the endzone as Darrell Jackson caught a 3 yard TD pass. The lead would change hands 6 more times in the game. With the Rams holding a 16-14 lead in the fourth quarter, Rams coach Scott Linehan chose to challenge a call, nullifying a field goal. The challenge was upheld, but the Rams still faced a fourth down play. Instead of kicking another field goal to increase the lead, Linehan chose to go for a first down. The raucous Qwest Field rose to the occasion, and Rams FB Paul Smith could not hear the play call. Rather than run a pass route he stayed in the backfield to block, and Ram QB Marc Bulger's pass to double covered TE Klopfenstein fell incomplete.

Nate Burleson returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown and a 21-16 lead. After a Rams TD with 2:37 remaining, a series of penalties against St. Louis changed momentum. A holding penalty nullified a successful 2 point convert. The second attempt failed. A 15 yard personal foul was assessed on the subsequent kickoff, and Josh Scobey returned the ball to the Ram 49 yard line. With a short field and time on the clock, Seneca Wallace and Maurice Morris drove the Seahawks to the Ram 20 yard line, where Josh Brown kicked a game winning field goal with 9 seconds remaining.

Brown kicked game winning field goals in both games against the Rams that year.

Week 11: at San Francisco 49ers

*Game time: 8:15 PM EST/5:15 PM PST
*Game weather: 16 °F (Clear)
*Stadium: Invesco Field at Mile High
*Television commentators (NBC): Al Michaels and John Madden
*Game attendance: 76,146

The Seahawks travelled to Denver to face their old foe from the AFC West. On a frigid Sunday Night game, these Seahawks were able to accomplish what few of their predecessors managed - to come out of Denver with a win. Carrying on their recent troubling tendency of weak first half performances, the Seahawks fell behind 13-7 to the Broncos, who were led by first-time starter Jay Cutler. The Seahawks managed only 2 first downs and 67 yards of total offense in the first half, but remained in the game thanks to Darryl Tapp's 25 yard return of an intercepted Cutler pass for a TD.

In the second half, the teams traded punts and one turnover apiece until Seattle got the ball on its own 39 yard line with 9:42 left in the game. Two long pass completions from Matt Hasselbeck to Darrell Jackson put the Seahawks on the Broncos one yard line. Shaun Alexander quickly took the ball into the endzone for a 14-13 Seahawks lead. The Broncos fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Joe Tafoya recovered. Assisted by a holding penalty on third down, the Seahawks moved the ball into range for Josh Brown to kick a 44 yard field goal. The Broncos held onto the following kickoff, but on their first play Cutler threw an interception to Jordan Babineaux for Seattle's 9th takeaway in the past two games. The Seahawks again had to settle for a Brown 23 yard field goal for a 20-13 lead with 3:01 remaining, keeping Denver in the game. The failure to score a TD proved costly, as Cutler connected with WR Brandon Marshall on a 71 yard pass and run play for a game tying TD, assisted by some poor tackling by Seattle.

The Seahawks started the last drive at their own 14 yard line with 2:31 remaining. A key third down reception by Nate Burleson kept the drive alive, and Hasselbeck led the team down to the Broncos 32 yard line with 10 seconds remaining. Josh Brown came on to kick a game winning 50 yard FG, his fourth such kick of the season to tie an NFL record.

With the win the Seahawks' lead in the NFC West increased to three games over the 49ers and Rams.

Week 14: at Arizona Cardinals

*Game time: 4:15 PM EST/1:15 PM PST
*Game weather: 47 °F (Cloudy)
*Stadium: Qwest Field
*Television commentators (CBS): Dick Enberg and Randy Cross
*Game attendance: 68,174Trying to end a two-game skid, the Seahawks went home for a Week 16 fight with the San Diego Chargers. After a scoreless first quarter, the Chargers struck in the second quarter with QB Philip Rivers completing a 9-yard TD pass to WR Vincent Jackson for the only score of the period. In the third quarter, San Diego increased its lead with kicker Nate Kaeding nailing a 46-yard field goal. Fortunately, Seattle started to strike back with RB Shaun Alexander getting a 33-yard TD run. However, the Chargers answered back with Kaeding kicking a 40-yard field goal. In the fourth quarter, the Seahawks finally took the lead with Alexander getting a 9-yard TD run, along with kicker Josh Brown's 33-yard field goal. However, the Chargers wrapped up the game with Rivers and Jackson hooking up again on a 37-yard TD pass. With the loss, Seattle fell to 8-7.

Week 17: at Tampa Bay Buccanneers

*Gametime: January 14,2007 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST
*Stadium: Soldier Field
*Television commentators (FOX): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver

Coming off the win over the Cowboys, the Seahawks traveled to Soldier Field to face the top-seeded Chicago Bears in the Divisional round. In the first quarter, Seattle trailed early with Bears RB Thomas Jones getting a 9-yard TD run for the only score of the period. In the second quarter, the Seahawks got on the board with QB Matt Hasselbeck completing a 16-yard TD pass to WR Nate Burleson. However, immediately following Seattle's score, Chicago responded with QB Rex Grossman completing a 68-yard TD pass to WR Bernard Berrian. The Seahawks struck back with RB Shaun Alexander getting a 4-yard TD run, yet Jones helped the Bears out with a 7-yard TD run. In the third quarter, Seattle took the lead with kicker Josh Brown kicking a 40-yard field goal, while Alexander got a 13-yard TD run. However, in the fourth quarter, Chicago tied the game with kicker Robbie Gould getting a 41-yard field goal. In overtime, the Seahawks won the coin toss and received the ball first. Hasselback led the team to around midfield, but on their last third down of the game, he threw the ball out of bounds. On fourth down the Seahawks punted to the Bears who were able to get the ball close enough for Gould to kick a 49-yard field goal.

With the loss, Seattle ended its season with an overall record of 10-8.

Division standings

References