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Hasselbeck suffers knee injury, Seahawks lose

Oct 22, 2006 - 11:34 PM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The Seattle Seahawks lost their quarterback and their 12-game home winning streak.

Chester Taylor set a franchise record with a 95-yard scoring run and Brad Johnson passed for two touchdowns to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a 31-13 victory over the Seahawks.

Seattle (4-2), which was playing without reigning MVP and rushing champion Shaun Alexander for a third straight game, slipped into a first-place tie with idle St. Louis in the NFC West.

And the Seahawks also had to play most of the second half on Sunday without Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who suffered a sprained right knee just 47 seconds into the third quarter. Linebacker E.J. Henderson rolled into the back of Hasselbeck's leg after being pushed by Seahawks fullback Mack Strong.

"I was falling to the ground and Mack Strong kind of pushed (me)," Henderson said. "It was definitely an accident."

Hasselbeck crumpled to the ground immediately. He was helped off the field and did not return. At the time of his injury, the game was tied, 10-10. Backup Seneca Wallace was only able to direct one scoring drive and was picked off twice.

"I think they were a little shocked, a little rattled without their leader out there," said Henderson, who had nine tackles and an interception.

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren announced that Hasselbeck will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.

"He's getting pictures (of the knee) taken tomorrow (Monday)," Holmgren said. "But when you lose your quarterback, that's a fairly substantial thing. We have lost people at other positions, and it's not quite as dramatic."

The Vikings (4-2) snapped the tie when rookie coach Brad Childress called for a halfback option. Mewelde Moore took a handoff from Johnson, ran to his right for what appeared to be a sweep and then lofted a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jermaine Wiggins with 8:51 left in the third quarter. Wiggins slipped behind safeties Michael Boulware and Ken Hamlin and made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone.

"I haven't thrown a pass since my senior year in high school," Moore said. "I've got the highlight film of that."

A little more than four minutes later, Taylor broke off his 95-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 24-10. Running behind former Seahawk left guard Steve Hutchinson, Taylor cut to the outside before darting inside and racing all the way to the end zone.

"The offensive line did a great job of pushing them back and I just had to cut upfield and I was off to the races," Taylor said. "The play is designed to get the linebackers flowing and then the offensive line pushes them back, and that's what happened."

Taylor, who was signed as a free agent in the offseason after serving as a backup to Jamal Lewis in Baltimore, finished with a career-high 169 yards on 26 carries.

"He's definitely a good back. He's underrated," Hamlin said of Taylor. "He's definitely better than people say he is."

The Vikings added their fourth defensive touchdown of the season when linebacker Ben Leber sacked and forced a fumble by Wallace and defensive tackle Kevin Williams recovered the ball in the end zone with 7:48 left in the fourth quarter.

Seattle's last home loss came in the wild-card round of the 2004 playoffs against St. Louis. Since then, the Seahawks went 8-0 at home in the regular season and added two more playoff wins in 2005 and won their first two home games this season.

But now the streak is over and the Seahawks may head to Kansas City next week with Wallace, who has never started a game in his four-year career, at the controls.

After replacing Hasselbeck, Wallace completed 14-of-25 passes for 134 yards, but committed three turnovers - two interceptions and a fumble.

"I think I did all right," Wallace said. "It's a different view when you are down there on the field running things instead of standing on the sidelines. There aren't many backup quarterbacks in the NFL that can step in and it clicks right away."

The game marked the return of Hutchinson, who signed the richest contract for a guard - a seven-year, $49 million deal with Minnesota - in the offseason after playing five years with the Seahawks and making three Pro Bowls.

"I'm not going to lie to you, it's special," Hutchinson said of the win. "Everything that's been made of it in the media, and for as much as I've tried to avoid the hoopla, you end up smack dab in the middle of it. More importantly, we won today and we are 4-2."

Taylor is now the beneficiary of a strong left side of the line with Hutchinson and tackle Bryant McKinnie. Taylor has rushed for 590 yards in six games.

"Hutch wanted this game more than anybody," Taylor said. "He wanted to do as good as he could, and the rest of the offensive line played up to him, and we got the job done today."

Ryan Longwell kicked a 33-yard field goal 3:20 into the game for Minnesota.

But just 1:39 later, Hasselbeck connected with Darrell Jackson on a 72-yard touchdown. Josh Brown's 42-yard field goal 47 seconds into the second quarter increased Seattle's lead to 10-3.

Johnson hit Marcus Robinson with a 40-yard scoring pass with 7:55 left in the second quarter to tie the game.

"He (Robinson) did a little square in and go," Johnson said of Robinson's route. "He is lethal down there in the red zone. You want to throw it up and give him a chance."