Tampa Bay's rookie quarterback outperforms Hasselbeck

The first half was about as listless a 30 minutes of football as had ever been seen at Qwest Field, but the halftime quarterback stats followed form.

The Seahawks' Matt Hasselbeck, three-time Pro Bowler: 11 for 20, 120 yards, TD, interception. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Josh Freeman, a struggling rookie with no touchdowns and nine interceptions over his past 2 ½ games: 5 for 12 for 61 yards and a pick.

But oh, how the script can be flipped. Freeman, 21 years old, ended up with the solid if not efficient numbers and Hasselbeck was the one who floundered as he and his receivers failed on more connections than a bad cellphone area in the second half.

Freeman finished 16 of 26 for 205 yards, threw for two touchdowns and ran in for a two-point conversion. Hasselbeck, forced to throw more with the Seahawks trying to rally in the fourth quarter, ended up 27 of 46 for 256 yards and threw four interceptions. He didn't get much help from receivers who ran wrong routes, dropped passes or simply fell down in mid-route, as was the case when Deion Branch wasn't where he was supposed to be after stumbling on a play in the third quarter. Bucs safety Tanard Jackson intercepted that pass.

"It's been a while since there has been one that bad," said Hasselbeck of his performance in Seattle's 24-7 loss to Tampa Bay, which included a lost fumble in Bucs territory in the first quarter when he scrambled and had positive yardage before fumbling the ball.

"I just feel like I let a lot of people down."

The boos that cascaded from the rafters were proof of that. On the other sideline, a young quarterback was showing signs of coming into his own.

Freeman and Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris didn't point to any halftime adjustment that the youngster made. They knew Freeman would bounce back from the interception he threw to end the Bucs' first possession of the game.

"I just looked at him and said, 'Go win the game,' " Morris said. "You go right to him, he looks me right in the face and says, 'I got it. I'm comfortable.' "

The Bucs were 1 for 7 on third-down conversions in the first half, the conversion coming on a Freeman pass. They were 6 for 9 in the second half, all six first downs made on Freeman completions.

"There was never any moment where that confidence was shaken," Freeman said. "I threw a pick and I wasn't happy about it. I come over to the sideline and nobody's like, 'Aw, what are you doing?' I was like, 'I got it, I got it.' And he [Morris] said, 'All right then, get it.' "

Tampa Bay also opened up its passing game by getting its running game going in the second half. Derrick Ward and Cadillac Williams combined to rush for 133 yards, 78 of those in the second half. Tight end Kellen Winslow caught six passes for 93 yards.

"It's how well the players play around Josh that's going to make Josh," Morris said. "We had a theme today — no egos."

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