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Injury-plagued Seahawks try to bounce back from woeful showing

Sep 9, 2008 - 11:55 PM SAN FRANCISCO (0-1) at SEATTLE (0-1), 4:05 pm EDT

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- On the one hand, the Seattle Seahawks could not look much worse than they did in Week One. On the other, with the injuries piling up, they might not look much better either.

The shorthanded Seahawks host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in a battle between winless NFC West foes.

Nate Burleson, who will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee, joins fellow receivers Deion Branch, Bobby Engram and Ben Obomanu on Seattle's injury list.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is playing with a bulging disk in his back and running back Maurice Morris will miss the next two games with a sprained knee.

Acquired as an unrestricted free agent from the Dallas Cowboys this offseason, Julius Jones will start in Morris' place. Jones, who had a career-low 588 rushing yards last season, rushed for 48 yards Sunday.

While the 49ers don't have an abundance of receiving weapons, they sure don't share the Seahawks' problems at running back. Frank Gore racked up 151 total yards in Sunday's 23-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Gore had 96 rushing yards, including a 41-yard burst in the first quarter that gave San Francisco a 7-3 lead.

J.T. O'Sullivan, who beat out Alex Smith and Shaun Hill for the starting quarterback job during the preseason, completed 14-of-20 passes for 195 yards with no TDs and one interception.

O'Sullivan struggled to get the ball to the receivers as Bryant Johnson and Arnaz Battle combined for four catches and 64 yards. All his other passes went to running backs or tight end Vernon Davis, who had three receptions for 51 yards.