Alexander Rushes Seahawks to Victory

Shaun Alexander rushed for four touchdowns, two in a 30-second span of the third quarter, and the Seattle Seahawks broke open a one-point lead at halftime, cruising to a 37-12 victory over winless Arizona on Sunday.

Seattle Coach Mike Holmgren guaranteed the Seahawks, who had not scored in the second half in their first two games, would score in the second half sometime this season. His players made Holmgren look like a prophet, putting up 27 points in the last 30 minutes.

“I was right on that one,” Holmgren quipped.

Alexander rushed for 135 yards and three scores in the first three quarters, and his one-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter gave Seattle a 31-12 lead.

Alexander finished with 140 yards in 22 carries, the 24th 100-yard game of his career, tying him with Chris Warren for most in team history.

Seattle’s offensive line punched holes in Arizona’s defense all day. When the Cardinals had Alexander seemingly wrapped up, he improvised.

Alexander set up his final score with a 45-yard rush, spinning out of a tackle and reversing field before being tackled at the Arizona seven. He scored three plays later from the one.

Matt Hasselbeck completed 20 of 31 passes for 242 yards for Seattle (2-1).

Down, 10-6, with 3 minutes 56 seconds left in the first half, Arizona (0-3) lost quarterback Kurt Warner because of a right groin injury.

Warner was eight for 13 for 105 yards and was sacked once. Backup Josh McCown didn’t fare better, finishing 10 for 23 for 97 yards.

“It’s not working,” Coach Dennis Green said. “You have a lot of strategies, you plan strategies and you want them to work. Now we’re sitting 0-3.”