KIRKLAND — Fifty years from now, Ken Lucas might be sitting in a rocking chair on a porch in his home state of Mississippi, and he will still remember the day the NFL watched St. Louis catch the Seahawks with their pants down.

Ahead by 17 points with less than nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter against the Rams in mid-October, the Seahawks were on the verge of taking a 2½-game lead in the NFC West and going 4-0 for the first time in franchise history.

What happened next is known as The Collapse.

"When all of us are done playing this game, we'll still remember that game as one of the most embarrassing games we've ever played," Lucas said this week. "You never forget a game like that. I want to be able to tell my kids and my family and friends that we redeemed ourselves in the same year and beat them in a game that really counted."

Saturday, the Seahawks get their chance. But regardless of what happens in their first-round playoff game, they will not forget Oct. 10, 2004. Not for a long, long, long time. Like, well, never.

They won't forget the 17 unanswered points the Rams ran off in 8:42 in the fourth quarter. They won't forget the 52-yard overtime touchdown that forever changed the complexion of this season.

And they won't forget Rams receiver Isaac Bruce jogging down their field, planting his helmet at the 10-yard-line on their turf and standing one foot on it like he just conquered North America before safety Ken Hamlin kicked the helmet 20 yards downfield.

Anatomy of a collapse The Seahawks had won their first three games before taking on the St. Louis Rams on Oct. 10 at Qwest Field. It looked like the Seahawks would be 4-0 when they led by 17 points midway through the fourth quarter. Instead, the sure win turned into a 33-27 overtime loss: 8:47 Josh Brown kicks a 34-yard field goal to give the Seahawks a 27-10 lead. 5:43 Rams pull 10 behind on Marc Bulger's 8-yard TD pass to Brandon Manumaleuna. 4:01 On third-and-one from the Seattle 30, Shaun Alexander is stopped for no gain, forcing a punt. 3:51 Shaun McDonald returns Tom Rouen's punt 39 yards to the Seahawks 41. 3:37 On the next play, Bulger connects with Kevin Curtis on a 41-yard TD pass, making it 27-24. 1:25 Seahawks are forced to punt again on fourth down from their 41. 1:14 Rams take over on their 36-yard line, and drive to the Seahawks 18. 0:13 Rams tie the score on Jeff Wilkins' 36-yard field goal. 12:17 On the sixth play from scrimmage in overtime, Bulger hits McDonald for a game-winning, 52-yard touchdown pass.

Boy, did they.

But not before Tom Rouen injured his punting leg, forcing kicker Josh Brown to punt, a move that prompted Holmgren to pass late in the fourth quarter. That pass, to a wide-open Bobby Engram, fell incomplete and stopped the clock.

Not before Marc Bulger completed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Curtis, a pass set up by a 39-yard Shaun McDonald punt return. And not before Bulger tossed the winning 52-yard touchdown pass to McDonald in the north end zone, in overtime no less.

"It's the only game I've ever coached in my life at any level, even in my days as a high-school coach, where that's exactly what happened," Holmgren said. "Heck, I could tell you that we've blocked it out of our mind, but that would be dishonest. I'm not sure I'll ever forget that game.

"Now, does it have anything to do with this game coming up? I don't think so. This game is a separate game. Did that game have something to do with the couple three games that followed it? Yeah, I think it did."

Did it ever. The Seahawks entered the game 3-0 and didn't win a game again until Halloween, a full 21 days after The Collapse. Losses at New England (understandable) and Arizona (not so much) followed, losses where The Collapse crept into their subconscious.

The Seahawks said it didn't bother them, but their actions spoke much louder. The defense that entered the Rams game ranked first in the NFL started its rest-of-the-season free-fall. Besieged by injuries and struggling at times with confidence, that defense ranks 26th in the NFL.

"We said we didn't (think about The Collapse), but it was there," Hasselbeck said. "We learned from that. It was a kick in the stomach at the time, but now we get another chance at them."

Hasselbeck points to a similar loss to the Dallas Cowboys in early December, where the Seahawks held a 10-point lead before succumbing 43-39 late in the fourth quarter. They rebounded with three wins in their last four games, a byproduct, Hasselbeck said, of their experience against the Rams.

Some games stay with players longer than others. Lucas still remembers a game he played in high school. The referees called back two rushing touchdowns and another on a punt return. His team lost by seven points.

That whole summer, Lucas used that game as motivation. The next season, his high school beat that team 45-0. But Lucas still remembers the first game, a game he will not soon forget.

"This is one of those types of games, just like that one," Lucas said. "We're just as talented or more talented than this team coming in here, but they do things to win the game. If we don't get it the third time, we need to be whipped. You can't let the same team beat you that many times in the same year. That's an embarrassment to us and the organization."