Seahawks Come Back Against Faders

After the biggest victory of his brief $32-million coaching career with the Seattle Seahawks, Mike Holmgren was drenched in sweat and had a huge smile.

The Seahawks won their third consecutive game by scoring the final 13 points to beat the Oakland Raiders, 22-21, Sunday night and move into first place in the AFC West.

“I’m glad he missed it,” Holmgren said of Mark Husted’s 61-yard field-goal attempt that fell short for Oakland as time expired.

It was Holmgren’s first coaching win for the Seahawks in the Kingdome, but it wasn’t easy. Seattle (3-1), which trailed 14-9 at halftime, overcame deficits of 21-9 and 14-3.

“As long as you win, I don’t care what half it is,” Holmgren said.

Oakland (2-2) swept Seattle last season.

“The Seahawks have never been known for being tough or physical,” said Ricky Watters, who had 71 yards in 24 carries. “But that’s changing, baby.”

Todd Peterson kicked three field goals, giving him eight in two games, and rookie Charlie Rogers had another big punt return for the Seahawks.

Raider running back Tyrone Wheatley had 91 yards in 14 carries by halftime but was held to only nine yards in six carries in the second half.

The Raiders were limited to a total of 42 rushing yards in the second half after running for 124 in the opening half.

“I thought they got us in some [defensive] alignments in the first half that we didn’t want to be in,” Holmgren said.

Both Raiders’ losses came in the final quarter. They lost their opener to Green Bay when Brett Favre led the Packers the length of the field for a touchdown in the final two minutes.

“We fought hard, but we need to find a way to win these ballgames,” Raider Coach Jon Gruden said. “We’re not finishing.”

Said quarterback Rich Gannon: “We let them back in it. We still had a chance to ice the game, but the momentum just didn’t swing back in our favor. We didn’t sustain anything.”

Peterson gave the Seahawks their first lead of the game with 10:07 left when he kicked a 45-yard field goal. The Seahawks drove 48 yards after Darryl Williams intercepted Gannon’s pass at the Seattle 25. It was only the second interception thrown by Gannon this season.

After the winning field goal, Seattle held Oakland to three first downs, two on a final drive on which Husted was short with his 61-yard attempt. Husted’s career long field goal was 57 yards when he was with Tampa Bay.

“Seeing him kick that was incredible, but that’s a long kick and he shouldn’t be expected to make that,” teammate Napoleon Kaufman said.