For Hawks, the bizarre has become the norm

OK, they're done. The Seahawks have now played every wacky game imaginable.

We think.

"I feel like I've seen it all now," wide receiver Nate Burleson said, laughing after the strangest 35-14 victory ever, "but for some reason, I know there's so much more that can happen."

Grab your defibrillators. The Seahawks have advanced in the playoffs.

In a season that has produced dramatic fourth quarter after dramatic fourth quarter, this motley team offered the craziest conclusion of all Saturday against Washington. The Seahawks went from choking to surviving to thriving in a wild seven-minute stretch that captured them perfectly.

They are, well, dramatic. They are so good they can win a playoff game by three touchdowns and not play their best. So bad they can forget to do simple things, like CATCH THE KICKOFF.

So good they can take a 13-0 lead into the fourth quarter. So bad they can lose it within three minutes.

And, then, so good they can recover without hesitation and close the game in rousing fashion.

That's the Seahawks, experts at redemption.

They don't play football games. Their performances are too epic, too convoluted, too exasperatingly wonderful to be put into such a dull category. More times than not, however, they persevere.

"This team really believes," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "When it gets bleak, you hang in there, you keep fighting, and this team has done that better than any team I've ever had, I think."

Holmgren certainly has evidence to support his praise. This was the Seahawks' sixth game this season that came down to a memorable fourth quarter. They've won four.

They've just figured out how to win these games of momentum. They only lose when they're at their absolute worst (the botched exchange between Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander in Arizona; the fourth-and-short overtime fiasco in Cleveland).

There are twice as many breakthroughs as failures: Lofa Tatupu's game-saving interception in Philadelphia; the defense holding steady in St. Louis until Gus Frerotte fumbled the game away at the goal line; quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's late touchdown pass to Nate Burleson against Cincinnati.

Now there's this game, half super, half blooper.

Entering the fourth, Burleson was watching his defense and dreaming of a shutout. After the Seahawks finally allowed a score early in the quarter, the disaster began.

Hasselbeck interception. Another Washington touchdown, on a 30-yard pass to Antwaan Randle El. Suddenly, Seattle had lost the lead.

The ensuing kickoff featured the game's strangest play. The wind knocked down Shaun Suisham's kick, and the ball bounced between Burleson and his blockers. Washington's Anthony Mix recovered the kickoff, and the Seahawks seemed to be falling apart.

Then the defense kept Washington out of the end zone, and Suisham barely missed a 30-yard field-goal attempt. Of course, on the next possession, Hasselbeck threw another interception.

But the Seahawks' defense held again, which led to great field position, which led to Hasselbeck's 20-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Hackett.

The wacky seven-minute stretch ended when Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant intercepted a Todd Collins pass and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown.

And just in case the fourth quarter wasn't kooky enough, Jordan Babineaux returned an interception for a touchdown with 27 seconds left.

It was a bizarre performance. Brilliant, too.

"It was awesome," said defensive tackle Craig Terrill, who had a huge fourth-quarter sack. "I love momentum changes. Once we got rolling, we didn't stop."

The Seahawks can't perform like this and win on the road. They know it. They were fortunate their mistakes didn't cause them to fall apart Saturday.

"It's in your mind," Terrill said. "But you just have to shut it up. That's football."

Said guard Rob Sims: "It's such a mental thing. When we were going through that, everybody just calmed down. We've done it before."

They've learned how to respond to the adversity, even though it's often self-inflicted. But at least they know how to win in these situations.

"I think guys understand the 'What if?' factor," tight end Marcus Pollard said. "You can't really predict what's going to happen in a game. Anything is possible. We just have the character to fight through it. It's something you can't teach."

But it's something you can appreciate. As long as it doesn't happen anymore.

Burleson laughed again.

"You never know," he said.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com

For his Extra Points blog, visit seattletimes.com/sports