Danny O'Neil | Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is hurting, so the Seahawks are, too

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck wasn't as drained as the week before when he was so dehydrated he required an IV.

He was still empty, though, hollowed out after another game in which he threw away Seattle's final chance at a victory.

For the second time in two weeks, Hasselbeck and the Seahawks had the ball with a chance to win with a touchdown. For the second time in two weeks, Hasselbeck's final pass of the game was picked off.

A week ago it was Arizona. This week, Washington's Shawn Springs intercepted a ball Hasselbeck never should have thrown, punctuating a game in which he finished with his fewest passing yards in what projects to be his worst season since coming to Seattle.

"I will definitely look back on this one for a long time," Hasselbeck said, "and regret it and realize how foolish it was."

Hasselbeck is hurting. That's clear just watching the man play. Seattle didn't have a reception longer than 21 yards Sunday and he completed as many passes to running backs as he did to wide receivers.

But he hasn't been healthy this whole season. He played all of one half of one exhibition game in August, was diagnosed with a bulging disk before he played a game and missed more than a month because of a nerve condition in his back.

Is health the biggest difference between last season, when he threw for a career-high 3,966 yards, and this season, when he has his lowest passer rating since coming to Seattle?

"That's a big part of it, but I can't use that as an excuse," Hasselbeck said. "I wish I had a good answer ... but all in all, I've got to just fix it quick. If I just am not careless with the football, we had a chance to win the game.

"I've just got to start there."

Seattle's quarterback is in no condition to carry the Seahawks to a turnaround this season.

The one thing that can't be faulted this season: Hasselbeck's accountability. He addressed his final pass before a single question had been asked.

"You just want me to start with what happened on the last play?" Hasselbeck began.

Hasselbeck intended the ball for Koren Robinson, but he misread the route his receiver would take. Springs had his back to Hasselbeck when the ball was let go but turned in time to intercept the pass and conclude what was an uneven performance by Seattle's quarterback.

"It was a little inconsistent, that is the best way to put that," coach Mike Holmgren said. "He made some beautiful throws."

Yes, Hasselbeck did. The 10-yard touchdown pass to John Carlson that allowed Seattle to tie the game at 17 in the fourth quarter was certifiably picturesque.

Things couldn't have started much worse, though. Ten minutes into the second quarter, Hasselbeck was 1-for-7 passing for all of 6 yards. He came back and completed all five passes he attempted on Seattle's touchdown drive in the second quarter, which ended with the first of his two scoring passes in the game. That used to be the norm for this offense. It's the exception now.

"It's just little parts of the game instead of the whole game," Hasselbeck said. "We didn't start well today. I didn't start well. It's frustrating. It's very, very frustrating."

There is no denial amid another disastrous conclusion. No whistling past this graveyard of a season that has included two of the five worst passing totals in Hasselbeck's career as a starter.

Hasselbeck was asked after Sunday's game about something he said before last season's Super Bowl in an appearance alongside Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and Arizona's Anquan Boldin.

"The Pro Bowl conference?" Hasselbeck said. "Yeah, not going to be doing that this year."

Unfortunately for Seattle, his passes this season haven't always been as sharp as that sense of humor.

Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com