Notebook | Again, dropping passes high on list of problems

When a team develops a reputation for having receivers who drop passes, it's a hard perception to shed.

The Seahawks didn't help that image much Sunday, mishandling five passes. Two by Nate Burleson, two by Shaun Alexander and one by Bobby Engram.

Burleson made up for his with the winning touchdown catch in the Seahawks' 24-21 victory over Cincinnati. He let a potential score fall from his hands a few minutes earlier, making a nice grab in the back of the end zone but losing control of the ball as soon as he hit the turf.

Engram caught the Seahawks' first touchdown before his drop. And Alexander — wearing a protective wrap over his sprained left wrist — was booed in the fourth quarter when his second drop occurred.

Brown's adventure

The Seahawks might not have won without Josh Brown's 23-yard field goal with six minutes left, giving them a 17-15 lead.

The kick, as it turned out, was tipped. If not for the force of Brown's leg striking the ball and sending a low liner between the uprights, things could have been different.

"I don't even know where the guy came from," Brown said. "It hit his hands and went through. The guy was right in my face and it went off his hands. I kicked it just soon enough and hard enough that it still went through.

"However you win, you win. Luck's got to be on your side at some point."

Jennings hanging tough

Kelly Jennings recovered his second fumble of the season Sunday and spent all afternoon chasing the Bengals' T.J. Houshmandzadeh around the field.

Houshmandzadeh had 12 catches for 141 yards, including a touchdown. For all his work, Jennings got the wind knocked out of him on one play in the third quarter and even had to come out for a few plays, replaced by Josh Wilson.

Jennings was clearly in pain after a deep ball for Houshmandzadeh was overthrown, but staggered back to the line of scrimmage and was blocked out of a running play. Seeing Jennings hurting, defensive backs coach Jim Mora immediately sent in Wilson.

12th Man roars

For all their success throwing the ball Sunday, the Bengals looked a bit confused at times. They became the latest victims of the 12th Man with three false-start penalties on offense, part of their collective 10 penalties for 72 yards in what made a key difference in the game.

"Probably the loudest place I've ever played," quarterback Carson Palmer said.

If the suit fits ...

Then wear it, the Seahawks say. Defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, who recorded his first sack of the season Sunday, is the owner of a mint-green jacket and pants set, and as a teammate put it, the Seahawks are 2-0 when Mebane wears the suit.

Mebane's flair for fashion only slightly outshined his flair for celebration of a sack. It happened in the second quarter when he planted Palmer for a 7-yard loss.

Mebane turned to the Seahawks' bench, stretched his arms and did sort of a grand plié as is done in ballet.

"It's just going across your body and just break it down," Mebane said. "The other leg goes limp, then I just bring it back and pull myself up. A little ballet in there."

Kick-start

Rookie cornerback Josh Wilson returned the opening kickoff 72 yards, the Seahawks' longest return since 2002 when Maurice Morris returned a kick 97 yards for a touchdown. Seattle didn't have a kickoff return longer than 50 yards last season.

The return set up Seattle's first scoring opportunity of the game, and it was a play by Seattle's special teams that prevented Cincinnati from having a final scoring opportunity as Alvin Pearman and Lance Laury combined on the tackle that forced a fumble.

NOTES

• Seahawks defensive coordinator John Marshall called plays with a heavy heart Sunday after learning his ailing mother had died. No other details were available after the game.

• Engram and WR Deion Branch have the same number of catches to lead the Seahawks, 13, but Branch is the yardage leader with 199 to Engram's 197. Branch didn't have a catch in Week 1.

• Olympic gold medalist Apolo Ohno raised the 12th Man flag.

• In recognition of the NFL's salute to Hispanic Heritage Month, former Seahawks kicker Efren Herrera introduced a Latino-themed halftime show featuring live music and dance.

Times NFL reporter Danny O'Neil contributed to this report.