Seahawks Leaders of Their Pack

Mike Holmgren is halfway there.

If the Seattle Seahawks play as well in the second half of the season as they played in the first, their 11-year playoff drought should end.

Jon Kitna passed for three touchdowns in the first half and Ricky Watters, who had 133 rushing yards, scored his first touchdowns of the season as the surging Seahawks defeated the struggling Cincinnati Bengals, 37-20, Sunday.

Under Holmgren, their new coach and general manager, the Seahawks (6-2) gained sole possession of first place in the AFC West with their best first-half record since 1984. Kansas City (5-3) fell to second in the division with a loss at Indianapolis.

“I’ll take it. I feel great about it,” said Holmgren, who left the Green Bay Packers after seven seasons to become the NFL’s highest paid coach with the Seahawks. “We did some good things today.”

It was the second win in six days for the Seahawks, who were coming off a Monday night win over Green Bay. The team could get more good news on today, when receiver Joey Galloway is expected to report and end his contract dispute.

“When I see him, I’ll believe it,” Holmgren said.

Cincinnati (1-8) lost its fourth in a row for the second time this season. The Bengals, who are 2-18 in their last 20 games, committed a season-high 16 penalties for 107 yards.

“We made a lot of mistakes,” receiver Willie Jackson said. “There’s no excuse for that.”

Jeff Blake threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Carl Pickens in the first quarter for Cincinnati’s longest play of the season. But Blake, starting in place of injured rookie Akili Smith, also threw two interceptions.