10th straight win earns first-round bye

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It served as a humbling reality check, if nothing else. And maybe the Seahawks needed it, with their playoff status secure.

The streaking Seahawks got all they could handle from the Tennessee Titans, who scored 24 unanswered points to take a 10-point lead deep into the third quarter. But this is the Seahawks' season of well-aligned stars, and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck spearheaded a 28-24 comeback win at The Coliseum.

Two fourth-down stands and tough running by Shaun Alexander also saved the day for Seattle, which won its franchise-record 10th straight game and secured a first-round bye in the playoffs by improving to 12-2 with two regular-season games left to play.

The Seahawks will be one of the top two seeds in the NFC playoffs. They would have secured the No. 1 seed Sunday night had Chicago lost at home to Atlanta, but the Bears' victory means the Seahawks are still one win or a Bears loss away from clinching home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Seattle has a home game against AFC-leading Indianapolis this Saturday, followed by a road game at Green Bay on Jan. 1 to close out the regular season. Chicago is at Green Bay on Christmas Day and at Minnesota on Jan. 1.

But the Seahawks couldn't think about looking ahead during the course of Sunday's game, even though they got off to a fine start.

Hasselbeck engineered a game-opening touchdown drive, the Seahawks' third in the past three games. Alexander's 52-yard run on the Seahawks' next possession was the highlight of a six-play, 79-yard drive that ended in Alexander's 1-yard touchdown run.

The long run was Alexander's 46th carry of 10 yards or more this season, and he finished the game with 47. Alexander has at least one run of 10 or more yards in 52 straight games, and his 172-yard performance was only a yard short of his best effort of the season.

"We were moving the ball well, but I don't think we thought they weren't going to make a game of it," left tackle Walter Jones said.

The Seahawks seemed destined for a third consecutive blowout win. But the Titans (4-10) weren't so quick to break down.

They got on the board with 6:08 left in the first half on a 3-yard touchdown run by Jarrett Payton. It was Tennessee's first offensive touchdown since Nov. 27.

The Titans weren't through. An 84-yard drive culminated with quarterback Steve McNair hitting wide receiver Drew Bennett for a touchdown with eight seconds left in the half to tie the score.

Momentum on their side, the Titans drove 78 yards for another score to open the second half. Their quick tempo and McNair's rollouts, along with control of the line of scrimmage, made it nearly impossible for the Seahawks to generate a good pass rush.

"We could not get to him," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "Steve McNair's a big, strong guy, and he can move for a big guy. We hit him a couple of times and he threw great passes to guys right before we hit him."

The Titans' third touchdown happened when McNair found Bennett wide open in the end zone after Seattle cornerback Jordan Babineaux fell down in coverage.

Down 24-14 with 6:07 left in the third quarter, the Seahawks reawakened. And fast.

A slant to Bobby Engram gained 56 yards when Engram split two tacklers and scampered downfield. A pass to Darrell Jackson, playing for the first time in 10 games, picked up 23 more. On the very next play, Hasselbeck found Joe Jurevicius for a 4-yard touchdown pass, his team-high ninth touchdown catch of the season.

Hasselbeck was pinpoint, passing for 285 yards and misfiring on just six of 27 throws. He has not committed a turnover on the road since Week 1 at Jacksonville.

"It's always a point of emphasis," Hasselbeck said. "I just think that we're really executing a lot better on offense."

The Titans moved the ball again, however, and as the third quarter ended faced fourth-and-one at the Seattle 6. Tennessee elected to go for the first down, and the gamble backfired when the Seahawks stuffed Chris Brown for a 1-yard loss.

Linebacker Leroy Hill helped make the play.

"We knew coming in that they were going to take chances on us," Hill said. "They had nothing to lose."

The Seahawks marched 93 yards for the go-ahead score, Hasselbeck to Jackson from 2 yards out. Jackson fought through a tackle to get the ball over the goal line.

Then the defense came through one more time on a tough day. On fourth-and-two from the Seattle 34, McNair's pass fell incomplete. The Seahawks took over with 5:03 to play and ran out the clock.

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