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Seahawks clinch No. 3 seed with rout of Ravens

Dec 24, 2007 - 2:48 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- With the playoffs still two weeks away, the Seattle Seahawks enjoyed a breather.

Matt Hasselbeck tossed two touchdown passes as the Seahawks jumped out to a 21-point halftime lead and coasted to a 27-6 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

The win, coupled with San Francisco's 21-19 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, enabled the Seahawks to clinch the NFC's third seed.

"If you can't have the home-field advantage throughout, or the first-round bye, then being slotted No. 3 means you've had a good year," Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said.

It was the ninth straight defeat for the Ravens, who last week became the first team to lose to the Miami Dolphins this season.

Hasselbeck threw two interceptions but he also tossed touchdown passes of 21 yards to Nate Burleson and 14 yards to Shaun Alexander in the second quarter to help the Seahawks (10-5) build a 21-0 halftime lead.

Hasselbeck completed 18-of-27 passes for 199 yards before giving way to Seneca Wallace in the fourth quarter.

Seattle rebounded from last week's 13-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers to post its sixth win in seven games.

"I was not happy with how we played last week, and the players weren't," Holmgren added. "I think we expressed ourselves to one another that way and had a good week of practice, and they came out and played a good game."

The Seahawks also had success on the ground, rushing for 144 yards on 36 carries. Shaun Alexander, who has struggled through an injury-plagued season ran for 73 yards on 13 carries.

Alexander understands the importance of generating a strong running game heading into the playoffs.

"You're almost kidding yourself if you think you can beat teams in the playoffs, especially on the road, which we'll have to do at least once, if you don't run the ball well," Alexander said.

The Seahawks were blanked in the first quarter but took control during a 21-point second quarter. In addition to Hasselbeck's two TDs, linebacker LeRoy Hill returned a fumble 20 yards for a score.

"We got the running game going just a little bit," Holmgren said. "Now, they were without (linebacker) Ray Lewis, who is a great player for them. I'll take any improvement in that area that comes our way."

Ravens quarterback Troy Smith, last year's Heisman Trophy winner at Ohio State, endured a rough afternoon in his first career start.

Replacing Kyle Boller, who is still recovering from a concussion, Smith completed 16-of-33 passes for 199 yards but most of the total came after the contest was out of reach.

A big chunk of Smith's yardage came on his first career touchdown pass, a 79-yard strike to Derrick Mason with 4:53 remaining in the contest.

"Early on, I was pressing, trying to do too much," Smith said. "I didn't get my feet under me until the second half and it really showed. Some of the decisions I made weren't the best decisions."

The Seahawks, who conclude the season next week at Atlanta, forced three fumbles and sacked Smith twice.

"When you go against a quarterback that hasn't played very much, if you don't pressure him, you're really giving him a chance to use his athletic ability, and you don't want to do that," Holmgren said. "You don't want to give him much hope at all early on in his career."

Josh Brown kicked field goals of 42 and 39 yards in the third quarter, giving the Seahawks a 27-0 cushion.

Bobby Engram caught five passes for 69 yards, setting a Seattle single-season record with 90 receptions.

"He is playing well, he is playing quick, he is playing fast," Hasselbeck said. "I know he's older, but he doesn't look it. He has had more opportunities, and he has taken advantage of it."