Seahawks Earn Division Title

Matt Hasselbeck wore a smile on his face and a message on his cap and T-shirt: Seattle Seahawks, NFC West champions.

Hasselbeck threw two touchdown passes and got another touchdown on a sneak, leading the Seahawks to a 28-26 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday that won the division title and earned a first-round playoff game at home.

“You have a better chance at home,” Seahawk Coach Mike Holmgren said. “You should. It’s a ‘thank you’ to your fans, as much as anything else.”

When the Seahawks (9-7) set their goals, winning the division ranked second only to making the playoffs. If they could land a home game or two, even better.

After an up-and-down ride where Seattle sometimes was a big disappointment, Hasselbeck and his teammates were happy to claim a prize they have coveted since last summer.

“We had some major adversity through the season, and we kept our eyes focused on that goal and accomplished it,” he said. “We didn’t do it the easy way. We did it the hard way, and it was a little sloppy at times.

“But we got it done. That’s what counts.”

The Seahawks barely avoided another late meltdown. Warrick Dunn was stopped on a two-point conversion attempt that would have forced overtime.

“I knew I wasn’t in,” Dunn said. “It was just one of those plays that we thought was going to be there, and it wasn’t. They played it well. I was trying to squeeze myself into a small crack and get in.”

Reserve quarterback Matt Schaub threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Brian Finneran as time expired.

“To come up short like we did is not acceptable,” Atlanta Coach Jim Mora said. “But to run for 204 yards, to have drives with a rookie quarterback to win, and to stop the run? That was outstanding.”

Seattle’s Shaun Alexander ran for 80 yards, finishing one yard behind Curtis Martin of the New York Jets (1,697) for the NFL’s rushing title.

It was a meaningless game for Atlanta (11-5), which lost its final two after securing the NFC’s No. 2 seeding in the playoffs two weeks ago.

Atlanta gets a first-round bye, while Seattle will play host to NFC West rival St. Louis on Saturday.