Krieg Rallies Seahawks Past Bengals : Seattle: Quarterback leads game-winning drive in 24-17 victory; Largent gets record.

Dave Krieg was hot on a snowy December day. Sam Wyche was boiling.

Krieg completed a clutch drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to Curt Warner in the closing minutes Sunday, giving Seattle a 24-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in a game in which the Seahawks’ Steve Largent set an NFL record by catching his 100th touchdown pass.

Krieg rallied the Seahawks from an early 10-point deficit with his passing on a snowy afternoon, dealing a major blow to the Bengals’ playoff hopes.

The winning pass with 3:51 remaining came one play after a disputed call that brought Wyche onto the field to berate the officials. A fuming Wyche later barred reporters from the Bengals’ locker room and ordered his players not to give interviews.

“I told them not to say anything,” Wyche told reporters outside the locker room. “It’s kind of like officiating--sometimes things aren’t fair.”

Seattle (6-8) appeared to be stopped when Warner failed to score on third down from the one-yard line. But the play had been blown dead by head linesman Tom White, who threw a flag for illegal motion. Referee Bob McElwee ruled there was no illegal motion, but the whistle had ended the play anyway--giving Seattle a second chance.

Krieg then found Warner wide open for the winning toss in the right flat. The quarterback said the Seahawks made the proper call when given a second chance.

“We had the right play against the right coverage,” Krieg said.

Wyche sprinted down the sideline to yell at White after the touchdown, which makes the Bengals (7-7) a longshot for the playoffs.

The loss dropped the defending American Conference champions two games behind Houston in the AFC Central with two to play. They remain a half-game behind second-place Cleveland.

After talking to his players for several minutes, a still-angry Wyche emerged from the locker room to say there would be no interviews.

“I feel so sorry for them that they had to lose this way. It’s really unfair, but there’s nothing you can do about it,” Wyche said.

The Bengals had a chance to match Warner’s touchdown, driving to fourth and one from the Seahawk six-yard line with a minute left. But Boomer Esiason overthrew Rodney Holman at the back of the end zone with 53 seconds left.

In the end, it was Krieg’s calmness on the final drive that made the difference. He threw a 33-yard pass to Largent to save one third down and scrambled for 15 yards on another third down to set up the touchdown.

Krieg completed 22 of 33 passes for 258 yards and an interception that was returned for Cincinnati’s final touchdown.

Krieg got the offense going just before the half, directing a 78-yard drive in 12 plays and improvising a 10-yard touchdown pass to Largent that got the receiver his record 100th touchdown catch.

Krieg scanned the secondary for several seconds and found Largent wide open at the back of the end zone, moving him ahead Don Hutson on the NFL’s touchdown receiving list.

“It’s great to do something like that and share it with friends,” Largent said. “This is something I’m sharing with all the friends I’ve played with.”

“That gave us some momentum,” Krieg said.

Largent, 35, already had extended his NFL record to 175 consecutive games with a reception when he caught a nine-yarder from Krieg on Seattle’s first possession. He also became the first receiver in NFL history to amass 13,000 yards with his touchdown catch.

The momentum carried into the second half. Warner ran 34 yards on the Seahawks’ first play to set up Norm Johnson’s tying 48-yard field goal.

On Seattle’s next play, Krieg found Brian Blades open in the middle of the Benegals’ zone defense, and the receiver slipped through an opening after the reception for a 60-yard touchdown--Seattle’s longest play from scrimmage.