Alexander Gets a Record and a Title

Shaun Alexander said his offensive line was more excited about a chance at the league rushing title than he was. The NFL touchdown record was another matter.

“It’s more fulfilling to be 13-3, to know we’re in the playoffs and we don’t have to play next week,” Alexander said. “Those are more fulfilling than the rushing title. The scoring title, the touchdowns, I do like that. That’s pretty cool.”

Alexander set both marks on Sunday in the Seattle Seahawks’ 23-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

He established the NFL single-season mark for touchdowns by scoring his 28th early in the second quarter, on a one-yard run. It was his 100th career touchdown.

Priest Holmes set his mark in 2003 with 27 touchdowns -- all rushing. Alexander, who ran for 73 yards in 20 first-half carries Sunday, also had 27 touchdowns rushing and added one receiving this season.

Then just before halftime, Alexander’s three-yard run vaulted him ahead of the New York Giants’ Tiki Barber as the league rushing leader. Alexander finished with 1,880 yards, 20 ahead of Barber, who ran for 203 yards Saturday against Oakland.

Alexander admitted he wasn’t completely into the game, which was meaningless in terms of the playoffs and home-field advantage, but his teammates weren’t letting him down.

“They were just like, ‘Shaun, we’re going to kind of take everything over for you.’ I was just running,” he said.

For the Packers, Sunday’s game may have been the last in the career of quarterback Brett Favre, who has said he is considering retirement. He threw his first touchdown pass in five games and went out a winner in his first losing season with the Packers.

“I’m going to take some time and get away from the season for a bit and then talk to people here in Green Bay and then we’ll see,” Favre, 36, said in comments distributed by the Packers’ public relations staff.

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Goal oriented

Most touchdowns scored in an NFL season:

*--* Player, team Year Rush Total Shaun Alexander, Seattle 2005 27 28 Priest Holmes, Kansas City 2003 27 27 Marshall Faulk, St. Louis 2000 18 26 Emmitt Smith, Dallas 1995 25 25

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