Botched plays in third quarter doom Seahawks to fourth straight loss

The reasons the Seahawks will finish with a losing record in 2008 are many, but a series of events in the third quarter of their 20-17 loss to Washington on Sunday summed up Seattle's miserable season perfectly.

Leading 10-7 at halftime, the Seahawks opened the third with a 55-yard kickoff return from Josh Wilson, leaving them with good field position and the opportunity to add to their lead.

The drive started well, as quarterback Matt Hasselbeck hit wide receiver Bobby Engram with a 13-yard pass. But the Seahawks lost yards thereafter and had to settle for an Olindo Mare 53-yard field-goal try, which missed wide right.

Washington took over and marched down the field for a field goal to tie the score at 10. The Seahawks got the ball again and started the drive with 14 yards on two carries from Maurice Morris.

That was promising, but the momentum was lost quickly. Seattle's Koren Robinson dropped a pass with no one near him, and on the very next play, Hasselbeck overthrew tight end John Carlson and was intercepted by Washington's LaRon Landry.

It took Washington three plays from the Seahawks' 30-yard line to score the go-ahead touchdown, an 8-yard pass from Jason Campbell to Antwaan Randle El with 3:25 left in the third quarter. The Seahawks responded with a touchdown drive to tie and later put themselves in a position to go to overtime with a late fumble recovery, but they did themselves in once again.

Hasselbeck, given the chance to atone for a late-game interception that ended the Seahawks' hopes for win over Arizona the previous week, committed the same mistake Sunday. On Seattle's first play of what would be its last possession — with Washington ahead 20-17 and 1:28 left in the game — Hasselbeck didn't get the ball close to his intended receiver, Robinson, and former Seahawk Shawn Springs picked it off. Washington then ran out the clock with kneel-downs.

"It was my fault, and I misread the route by Koren," Hasselbeck said. "I think he did everything he's supposed to do."

It was close, but close doesn't count. The Seahawks lost their fourth game in a row, fourth straight at Qwest Field and seventh of the past eight, falling to 2-9 on the season with five games left. Now Seattle faces a short week with a Thanksgiving Day game at Dallas, winners of the past two and, like Washington, bearing a 7-4 mark.

That short week would have been a little more fun around Seahawks headquarters had they moved the ball more consistently and prevented long drives on defense, two of their big bugaboos. A 44-yard Morris run — he finished with 103 yards on 14 carries — set up a Mare field goal in the first quarter, and the Seahawks caught a break when Washington's Shaun Suisham missed a 43-yard try that bounced off the cross bar.

Seattle's offense had its problems. One drive in the second quarter produced penalties for delay of game and a false start, and two incomplete passes that weren't close before a punt.

Washington converted a third-and-20 in the second quarter when Seattle's Kelly Jennings was called for pass interference, then scored a touchdown on that 11-play, 62-yard drive. Washington had the edge in time of possession by almost 17 minutes and converted five third downs of 5 yards to go or more.

"It makes you mad," safety Deon Grant said. "This is the position we want to put the offense in, and when it doesn't work it gets you very upset."

The Seahawks came back with a touchdown drive, ending it with Hasselbeck's 4-yard screen pass to Morris, and took the three-point lead into halftime.

The Seahawks could have collapsed after their third-quarter woes, but Hasselbeck moved them down the field as the fourth quarter began. A 21-yard completion to Bobby Engram set up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to Carlson to tie the score at 17.

Washington then went on a 10-play drive but had to settle for a field goal after fullback Mike Sellers dropped a pass on third-and-one. Suisham's field goal gave Washington the lead with 9:19 left in the game.

Seattle's last defensive stand wasn't great, as Washington drove from its 4 to the Seahawks' 23 on the legs of running back Clinton Portis, who finished with 143 rushing yards. Ladell Betts then fumbled the ball away, but the Seahawks' last chance ended in disaster.

"You get the ball back to the offense and things don't go exactly as planned," cornerback Marcus Trufant said. "But that's football."

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com