Seahawks’ Air Attack Too Much for Bills

After his conservative game plan backfired in a loss to San Diego last week, Seattle Coach Mike Holmgren decided to turn quarterback Jon Kitna loose against Buffalo on Sunday.

Kitna responded by passing for two touchdowns, and Todd Peterson kicked four field goals to lead the Seahawks to a 26-16 victory. Kitna, in his first full season as the Seahawk starter, helped his team move into a three-way tie for first place in the AFC West.

Even without standout receiver Joey Galloway to throw to, Kitna completed 17 of 30 passes for a season-high 276 yards with no interceptions.

“We came into this game with the idea that we’d be a little less conservative and we’d throw the ball around,” said Holmgren, in his first year coaching Seattle. “I think Jon had a pretty good game. He felt as bad as anybody did last Sunday.”

In last week’s 13-10 loss to the Chargers, Kitna didn’t complete a pass for more than 25 yards. Against the Bills, he had four completions of more than 25 yards, including a 43-yard scoring pass to Derrick Mayes.

With Galloway holding out in a bitter contract dispute, Kitna made Mayes his top target. Mayes caught six passes for 105 yards and two scores.

“Hopefully, coach is getting more confidence in me,” said Kitna, who completed 13 of 21 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns in the first half when the Seahawks took a 23-3 lead.

Peterson kicked field goals of 40, 21, 42 and 34 yards for the Seahawks (4-2), who share first place in the division with the Chargers and Kansas City.

The Bills (4-3) lost for the second week in a row after a four-game winning streak.