Final
QB Wallace gets first NFL start for Seahawks
Oct 24, 2006 - 8:16 PM Seattle (4-2) at Kansas City (3-3) Sunday 1:00 pm ESTKANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- The spotlight was supposed to be on Shaun Alexander and Larry Johnson. Instead, it will be on quarterback Seneca Wallace when the Seattle Seahawks visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in an interconference game.
Alexander earned the NFL MVP award after winning the rushing title with 1,880 yards and setting a single-season record with 27 rushing touchdowns in 2005. But Alexander is not expected to play for a fourth straight game when the Seahawks face the Chiefs.
Alexander has been sidelined since suffering a broken bone in his foot in a September 24 game against the New York Giants.
The Seahawks have gone 1-2 in Alexander's absence to slip into a first-place tie with St. Louis in the NFC West.
And now Seattle will have to play without two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck for at least the next three weeks.
Hasselbeck suffered a sprained right MCL in the third quarter of last week's 31-13 loss to Minnesota. The injury occurred when Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson rolled into the back of Hasselbeck's leg after being pushed by Seahawks fullback Mack Strong.
At the time of Hasselbeck's injury, the game was tied, 10-10. The Seahawks collapsed without him, getting outscored, 21-3, the rest of the way.
Wallace was only able to direct one scoring drive and committed three turnovers - two interceptions and a fumble into his own end zone that resulted in a touchdown for Minnesota.
A fourth-round pick of the Seahawks in 2003, Wallace will make his first career start on Sunday. He was the third-string quarterback for two years before being elevated to backup last season.
After replacing Hasselbeck last week, Wallace completed 14-of-25 passes for 134 yards with the three turnovers.
Chiefs coach Herman Edwards does not want to hear about quarterback injuries. Last year as coach of the New York Jets, Edwards lost quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler to shoulder injuries.
Then in his first game as Chiefs coach, Edwards lost starter Trent Green to a concussion. But veteran backup Damon Huard has stepped in and led the Chiefs to three wins in five games.
Green is not expected to return for another two weeks. So Huard remains at the controls and is the third-ranked quarterback in the AFC with a passer rating of 96.7, behind only Peyton Manning of Indianapolis and David Carr of Houston.
Huard started just six games in nine NFL seasons with Miami, New England and Kansas City before cashing in on this opportunity. He has completed nearly 64 percent of his passes (104-of-163) for 1,163 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception.
Last week, Huard threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-27 victory over San Diego.
Lawrence Tynes kicked a career-high 53-yard field goal with six seconds left to lift the Chiefs to the win. Huard completed passes of 15 yards to Johnson and 19 and 18 yards to Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez to set up the winning kick.
Johnson rushed for a season-high 132 yards and two touchdowns, raising his season total to 489 yards and five scores. Last year, Johnson led the AFC in rushing with 1,750 yards.
The Seahawks yielded 169 yards on the ground to Chester Taylor, including a 95-yard touchdown, in the loss to Minnesota last week.
The teams last met in November 2002 at Seattle and Hasselbeck passed for 362 yards and three touchdowns and Alexander rushed for 145 yards and a pair of scores in a 39-32 win for the Seahawks.
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