2006 Seattle Seahawks season The 2006 Seattle Seahawks season was the team ' s 31st season in the National Football League . The season began with the team attempting to improve on their 13 - 3 record from 2005 , repeat as National Football Conference ( NFC ) champions , and return to the Super Bowl . The team , while winning their NFC West division , only advanced as far as the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs , losing to eventual 2006 NFC Champions Chicago Bears in overtime . Offseason . Preseason schedule . The team ended the preseason with a record of 2 - 2 - 0 . 2006 Regular season . Week 1 : at Detroit Lions . The Seahawks won their regular season opener against the Detroit Lions on September 10 . Despite the Seahawks ' offense failing to score a single point , Josh Brown had a big day , as he provided all of the Seahawks ' points . He kicked a 20 - yarder , a 50 - yarder , and a 42 - yard field goal as time expired to win the game . Meanwhile , the defense limited the Lions to just two field goals . Deion Branch trade . On September 11 , the Seahawks announced they had acquired wide receiver Deion Branch in a trade with the New England Patriots . In return , they gave their first - round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft to the Patriots . Week 2 : vs . Arizona Cardinals . After a low - scoring victory in Detroit , the Seahawks played their Week 2 home - opener against their fellow NFC West rival , the Arizona Cardinals . Unlike Game 1 , Seattle ' s offense got off to a strong start , as RB Shaun Alexander got a 2 - yard TD run , while QB Matt Hasselbeck completed a 49 - yard TD pass to WR Darrell Jackson . That ' s how the rest of the first half would end up . In the third quarter , the score of the period was Arizona kicker Neil Rackers completed a 43 - yard field goal . In the fourth quarter , the Seahawks got a 1 - yard TD run by FB Mack Strong . The Cardinals would get a touchdown , which would come in the form of a 40 - yard TD pass from QB Kurt Warner to WR Bryant Johnson , but fortunately , Seattle would maintain the lead for the win . The Seahawks would extend their home winning streak to 11 straight games . Week 3 : vs . New York Giants . The Seahawks held on to defeat the New York Giants 42 - 30 after leading 42 - 3 going into the 4th quarter . Prior to the game the Giants had complained to the NFL about the level of crowd noise at Qwest Field and suggested that some of the noise was artificial . Last year the Giants were called for 11 false start penalties in a 24 - 21 overtime loss at Seattle . The complaint became public and the predictable result was a boisterous Seattle crowd and inspired play from the team . One day after the game , the Seahawks reported that MVP Running Back Shaun Alexander had a cracked bone in his foot that would sideline him for a few weeks . Week 4 : at Chicago Bears . The Seahawks met the 3 - 0 Chicago Bears in a primetime matchup of NFC powerhouses at Soldier Field . The Seahawks took the lead on an early field goal , but momentum quickly shifted to the hometown Bears . Two Matt Hasselbeck interceptions midway through the 2nd quarter led to 10 Chicago points and a 20 - 6 halftime lead . Any hopes for a comeback were erased after the Bears scored a touchdown on their first possession of the second half for a 27 - 6 lead . The Seahawks running attack was diminished without the injured Shaun Alexander . Near constant pressure on Hasselbeck , including 5 sacks , thwarted the effectiveness of the 4 receiver offense that had confused the Giants the week before . The team flight back to Seattle was diverted to South Dakota for a " medical emergency " , which turned out to be Defensive Consultant Ray Rhodes feeling ill after the game . Rhodes has a history of stroke symptoms . He was checked out at a Rapid City , SD hospital and released . Week 6 : at St . Louis Rams . Still recovering from the loss to the Bears and without Shaun Alexander and WR Bobby Engram , the Hawks were ineffective for much of the first half . Trailing 21 - 7 , Mike Holmgren blistered the paint in the locker room and a different Hawks team took the field in the second half . Seattle scored 20 unanswered points to lead 27 - 21 and looked to have put the game away after a Lofa Tatupu interception late in the game . However , RB Maurice Morris fumbled on the Ram 7 yard line with 2 : 48 left . A few plays later Ram QB Marc Bulger hit Torry Holt with a 67 - yard TD pass to give the Rams a 28 - 27 lead with 1 : 38 remaining . Matt Hasselbeck engineered a final drive from the Seahawks ' 17 - yard line and led the team to the Rams ' 31 - yard line . A premature celebration erupted on the Rams ' sideline as the Seahawks were called for an illegal formation after Hasselbeck spiked the ball to stop the clock with four seconds left in the game . The Rams believed the Seahawks had committed a false start which would have resulted in a ten - second runoff on the clock that would have ended the game . Instead , the Seahawks were penalized five yards , pushing them back to the 36 - yard line . Despite the setback , Josh Brown still kicked a 54 - yard field goal to win the game , 30 - 28 . Brown ' s kick was tied for the second longest game - winning field goal in NFL history , behind Tom Dempsey ' s 63 yard effort in 1970 . ( It would be supplanted a week later by Tampa Bay kicker Matt Bryant ' s 62 - yard field goal in a win over the Philadelphia Eagles . ) Brown also became the first player in NFL history to make 3 field goals of 49 yards or longer in the same quarter . In the third quarter , Brown achieved the equally rare feat of hitting both uprights on an unsuccessful 34 yard field goal attempt . Week 7 : vs . Minnesota Vikings . The return of Steve Hutchinson had the 12th man at Qwest Field in a frenzy . A knee injury to Matt Hasselbeck early in the second half silenced them . An early 72 yard TD reception by Darrell Jackson staked the Seahawks to a 7 - 3 lead , but the Vikings scored a TD of their own in the second quarter and the teams went to the half tied at 10 . On the Hawks first possession of the 3rd quarter , Vikings LB E . J . Henderson rolled onto Hasselbeck ' s right leg and sent the QB to the turf well after he had released the ball . Hasselbeck left the field with the assistance of trainers , and did not return . Seneca Wallace took over at QB , completing 14 of 25 passes with two interceptions and a fumble in his own endzone . The Hawks gave up a 15 yard TD pass from RB Mewelde Moore to TE Jermaine Wiggins to trail 17 - 10 as Hasselbeck was walking to the locker room . They looked to have weathered the storm and recaptured momentum when punter Ryan Plackemeier pinned the Vikings on their own 5 yard line . The next play resulted in the Vikings ' longest ever TD play , a 95 yard romp by Chester Taylor that brought back memories of Bo and the Boz . Suddenly the deficit was 14 points . The Hawks drove for an FG to cut the lead to 11 , but a failure to convert a 4th and 1 play on the next drive ended any hope of pulling out the game . The loss ended the Seahawks ' 12 game winning streak at home . An MRI scan on Hasselbeck ' s knee revealed a second degree sprain and he missed 4 games . Week 8 : at Kansas City Chiefs . The Seahawks ventured to Arrowhead Stadium without stars Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander . Seneca Wallace made his first career start in a stadium where the Seahawks have won only twice in their last 20 visits . The story of the game was not the Seahawks wounded offence , but rather the failure of the supposedly healthy defence . The Chiefs controlled the ball for over 42 minutes of the contest , piled up 499 total net yards , and were able to sustain drives all afternoon . The Seahawks defence was only able to force one Chiefs punt , early in the fourth quarter . Despite being dominated in time of possession and yardage , the Seahawks found themselves leading the game 28 - 27 after a Kelly Herndon 61 yard TD return of a fumbled field goal attempt and a 49 yard TD grab by Darrell Jackson with just over 6 minutes remaining . The Chiefs responded as they had all game , with an 8 play 80 yard drive capped off by Larry Johnson ' s 4th TD of the game . A successful 2 point conversion made the score 35 - 28 . A last drive by the Seahawks ended when Seneca Wallace completed a short sideline pass to FB Mack Strong for 8 yards on 4th down and 15 from the Chiefs 46 yard line . Fox became the sixth network to air a game between these two teams . All Sunday afternoon meetings between 1977 - 97 were aired on NBC , then from 1998 - 2001 on CBS ( which also aired the 2002 game in Seattle ) . ESPN broadcast Sunday night games in 1992 and 1998 , TNT aired a Thursday night game in 1996 , and ABC aired a Monday night game in 2000 . Week 9 : vs . Oakland Raiders . Hoping to rebound from their road loss to the Chiefs , the Seahawks returned home for a Monday Night match - up with the Oakland Raiders . The Raiders won the coin toss . It would be the last time fortune smiled on them on a windy and wet night at Qwest Field . In the first quarter , QB Seneca Wallace completed a 22 - yard TD pass to WR Deion Branch . Later in the first quarter , kicker Josh Brown nailed a 20 - yard field goal . In the second quarter , Brown would get a 25 - yard field goal for the only score of the quarter . After a scoreless third quarter , Brown would put the game away with another 20 - yard field goal in the fourth quarter . While the offense did their job , Seattle ' s defense had a huge night , sacking Raiders QB Andrew Walter nine times , including three consecutive times on the same set of downs . With their 16 - 0 victory over the Raiders , and a 42 - 0 appearance at the Eagles in 2005 , dubbed the Monday Night Massacre by NFL Films , the Seahawks became the first team to post consecutive shutouts on Monday Night Football . Poetically , the Raiders became the first team to lose in back - to - back MNF shutouts , having lost 27 - 0 to the San Diego Chargers earlier in 2006 . Week 10 : vs . St . Louis Rams . On a windy , rainy Sunday the Seahawks hosted the Rams looking to take an effective 3 game lead in the division with a win . The Seahawks drove the ball easily on their first possession , moving to the Ram 1 yard line . After a false start penalty , Seneca Wallace was sacked and fumbled , and the Rams returned the ball 89 yards for a touchdown . The Seahawks drove down the field again , this time maintaining possession to the endzone as Darrell Jackson caught a 3 yard TD pass . The lead would change hands 6 more times in the game . With the Rams holding a 16 - 14 lead in the fourth quarter , Rams coach Scott Linehan chose to challenge a call , nullifying a field goal . The challenge was upheld , but the Rams still faced a fourth down play . Instead of kicking another field goal to increase the lead , Linehan chose to go for a first down . The raucous Qwest Field rose to the occasion , and Rams FB Paul Smith could not hear the play call . Rather than run a pass route he stayed in the backfield to block , and Ram QB Marc Bulger ' s pass to double covered TE Klopfenstein fell incomplete . Nate Burleson returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown and a 21 - 16 lead . After a Rams TD with 2 : 37 remaining , a series of penalties against St . Louis changed momentum . A holding penalty nullified a successful 2 point convert . The second attempt failed . A 15 yard personal foul was assessed on the subsequent kickoff , and Josh Scobey returned the ball to the Ram 49 yard line . With a short field and time on the clock , Seneca Wallace and Maurice Morris drove the Seahawks to the Ram 20 yard line , where Josh Brown kicked a game winning field goal with 9 seconds remaining . Brown kicked game winning field goals in both games against the Rams that year . Week 11 : at San Francisco 49ers . The Seahawks travelled to Monster Park to face division rival San Francisco . Buoyed by the return of Shaun Alexander to the starting line - up , and having Matt Hasselbeck dressed as the 3rd quarterback , the Seahawks expected to take a stranglehold on the NFC West . Instead , they played a flat first half and fell behind by 20 points - 13 of those coming after 3 turnovers . The Seahawks also allowed the 49ers to gain 163 rushing yards in the first half , whereas Alexander had only 9 yards on 7 carries . He would finish with 37 yards on 17 carries . A different Hawks team appeared in the second half , scoring quickly on a 38 yard TD reception by Deion Branch . The Seahawks added another long TD reception by Darrell Jackson with 6 : 40 remaining in the game , but could not get any closer . A key sequence in the last 2 minutes of the game saw Alexander stopped for a loss on 4th and 1 . Following the change of possession , 49ers RB Frank Gore fumbled , recovered by Grant Wistrom . Given a second life , the Seahawks allowed a 9 yard loss on a sack before Seneca Wallace threw an interception . Instead of owning a 3 game lead in the division , the Seahawks only lead the surprising 49ers by a game . The teams meet again December 14 at Qwest Field . Week 12 : vs . Green Bay Packers . Snow fell on a Seahawks home game for the first time ever . In a setting that looked more like Green Bay ' s home field , the Seahawks started poorly on Monday Night Football . Matt Hasselbeck returned after missing 4 games and promptly turned the ball over four times in the first half . Shaun Alexander picked up the slack for the rusty Hasselbeck , rushing a team record 40 times for 201 yards on the evening . It was a return to MVP form for Alexander , who is still running on a cracked foot injured in the first week of the season . Josh Brown kicked four field goals in the first half to keep Seattle in the game , and they trailed only 14 - 12 at the half . All of Green Bay ' s points came off turnovers , the last 7 when a Hasselbeck fumble was returned for a TD . The snow stopped falling at halftime . Green Bay drove for a TD on their first possession of the second half to go up 21 - 12 . After both teams had drives stall and were forced to punt , Hasselbeck led the Seahawks on a nine - play , 62 - yard drive capped by a 23 - yard pass to D . J . Hackett . Seattle drove again late in the third quarter , led by Alexander . On the second play of the 4th quarter , Hasselbeck found Darrell Jackson for a 4 yard TD toss . A 2 point convert gave the Seahawks a 27 - 21 lead . After a Green Bay field goal cut the Seahawks lead to 3 points , Hasselbeck threw his third TD to Jerramy Stevens to cap an 11 play , 51 yard drive . The Seahawks defense crushed the final three Green Bay drives with two interceptions and a fumble recovery to finish with 4 takeaways on the night . Week 13 : at Denver Broncos . The Seahawks travelled to Denver to face their old foe from the AFC West . On a frigid Sunday Night game , these Seahawks were able to accomplish what few of their predecessors managed - to come out of Denver with a win . Carrying on their recent troubling tendency of weak first half performances , the Seahawks fell behind 13 - 7 to the Broncos , who were led by first - time starter Jay Cutler . The Seahawks managed only 2 first downs and 67 yards of total offense in the first half , but remained in the game thanks to Darryl Tapp ' s 25 yard return of an intercepted Cutler pass for a TD . In the second half , the teams traded punts and one turnover apiece until Seattle got the ball on its own 39 yard line with 9 : 42 left in the game . Two long pass completions from Matt Hasselbeck to Darrell Jackson put the Seahawks on the Broncos one yard line . Shaun Alexander quickly took the ball into the endzone for a 14 - 13 Seahawks lead . The Broncos fumbled the ensuing kickoff , and Joe Tafoya recovered . Assisted by a holding penalty on third down , the Seahawks moved the ball into range for Josh Brown to kick a 44 yard field goal . The Broncos held onto the following kickoff , but on their first play Cutler threw an interception to Jordan Babineaux for Seattle ' s 9th takeaway in the past two games . The Seahawks again had to settle for a Brown 23 yard field goal for a 20 - 13 lead with 3 : 01 remaining , keeping Denver in the game . The failure to score a TD proved costly , as Cutler connected with WR Brandon Marshall on a 71 yard pass and run play for a game tying TD , assisted by some poor tackling by Seattle . The Seahawks started the last drive at their own 14 yard line with 2 : 31 remaining . A key third down reception by Nate Burleson kept the drive alive , and Hasselbeck led the team down to the Broncos 32 yard line with 10 seconds remaining . Josh Brown came on to kick a game winning 50 yard FG , his fourth such kick of the season to tie an NFL record . With the win the Seahawks ' lead in the NFC West increased to three games over the 49ers and Rams . Week 14 : at Arizona Cardinals . Coming off their Sunday night victory over the Broncos , the Seahawks flew to the University of Phoenix Stadium for an NFC West rematch with the Arizona Cardinals . In the first quarter , Seattle trailed early as Cardinals QB Matt Leinart completed a 56 - yard TD pass to WR Bryant Johnson , while RB Edgerrin James got a 7 - yard TD run . The Seahawks would respond with QB Matt Hasselbeck completing a 23 - yard TD pass to WR D . J . Hackett . In the second quarter , Arizona increased its lead with kicker Neil Rackers nailing a 32 - yard field goal . Seattle would draw closer with Hasselbeck completing a 5 - yard TD pass to WR Nate Burleson . In the third quarter , the Seahawks took the lead with Hasselbeck ' s 2 - yard TD pass to WR Darrell Jackson for the only score of the period . However , in the fourth quarter , the Cardinals got the win with Leinart ' s 5 - yard TD pass to WR Larry Fitzgerald and Rackers ' 40 - yard field goal . With the loss , Seattle fell to 8 - 5 . Week 15 : vs . San Francisco 49ers . Despite the loss to the Cardinals , the Seahawks could still clinch the NFC West at home in a Thursday night game against the San Francisco 49ers with the Seahawks hoping to avenge the earlier loss to the 49ers . On a rainy , windy night , Seattle started off strong with RB Shaun Alexander getting a three - yard TD run for the only score of the first quarter . The 49ers offense was almost nonexistent in the first half , as seven of San Francisco ' s first eight drives ended in three - and - outs . However , the Seahawks still allowed a 39 - yard field goal by Niners kicker Joe Nedney near the end of the half . After a scoreless third quarter , Seattle ' s defense started giving way . 49ers QB Alex Smith completed an 8 - yard TD pass to TE Vernon Davis . An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Davis combined with an excellent kickoff return by Nate Burleson gave Seattle prime field position at the San Francisco 33 - yard line . However , the Seahawks failed to convert on a fourth down play on the first series from scrimmage , and turned the ball over on downs . Smith would take advantage by driving his team downfield and completing a 20 - yard TD pass to RB Frank Gore . San Francisco delivered the final blow with Smith running for an 18 - yard TD on a naked bootleg with no defenders near him . The Seahawks got a 22 - yard touchdown from QB Matt Hasselbeck to TE Jerramy Stevens with under two minutes left , but it wouldn ' t be enough as Seattle would get swept by the 49ers . With the loss , the Seahawks fell to 8 - 6 . Week 16 : vs . San Diego Chargers . Trying to end a two - game skid , the Seahawks went home for a Week 16 fight with the San Diego Chargers . After a scoreless first quarter , the Chargers struck in the second quarter with QB Philip Rivers completing a 9 - yard TD pass to WR Vincent Jackson for the only score of the period . In the third quarter , San Diego increased its lead with kicker Nate Kaeding nailing a 46 - yard field goal . Fortunately , Seattle started to strike back with RB Shaun Alexander getting a 33 - yard TD run . However , the Chargers answered back with Kaeding kicking a 40 - yard field goal . In the fourth quarter , the Seahawks finally took the lead with Alexander getting a 9 - yard TD run , along with kicker Josh Brown ' s 33 - yard field goal . However , the Chargers wrapped up the game with Rivers and Jackson hooking up again on a 37 - yard TD pass . With the loss , Seattle fell to 8 - 7 . Week 17 : at Tampa Bay Buccanneers . Trying the end a three - game skid , the Seahawks flew to Raymond James Stadium for their last game of the regular season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . In the first quarter , Seattle drew first blood with kicker Josh Brown nailing a 35 - yard field goal , while RB Shaun Alexander got a 1 - yard TD run . In the second quarter , the Buccaneers would get their only score of the game as QB Tim Rattay completed a 4 - yard TD pass to WR Joey Galloway . Afterwards , Seattle took over for the rest of the game as QB Matt Hasselbeck completed a 5 - yard TD pass to WR D . J . Hackett . In the second half , Brown wrapped up the game with a 30 - yard field goal in the third goal , along with a 23 - yard field goal in the fourth quarter . With the win , the Seahawks wrapped up the regular season at 9 - 7 and acquired the NFC ' s # 4 seed . However , CB ' S Kelly Jennings , and Jimmy Williams were injured during the match . They would join Kelly Herndon and Marcus Trufant on the injured list . Playoffs . NFC Wild Card Round : vs . Dallas Cowboys . Entering the NFC playoffs as the fourth - seed , the Seahawks began their playoff run at home against the fifth - seeded Dallas Cowboys . In the first quarter , Seattle struck first blood with a 23 - yard field goal , while Cowboys kicker Martín Gramática nailed a 50 - yard field goal . In the second quarter , Seattle went back into the lead with Brown kicking a 30 - yard field goal . However , Dallas took the lead with QB Tony Romo completing a 13 - yard TD pass to WR Patrick Crayton before halftime . In the third quarter , the Seahawks regained the lead with QB Matt Hasselbeck completing a 15 - yard TD pass to TE Jerramy Stevens . However , following the touchdown drive , the Cowboys marched right back into the lead as WR Miles Austin returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown . In the fourth quarter , Dallas increased its lead with Gramática kicking a 29 - yard field goal . Later , Seattle retook the lead with a safety off a Terry Glenn fumble from a hit by rookie CB Kelly Jennings , along with Hasselbeck hooking up with Stevens again on a 37 - yard TD pass ( followed up with a failed a two - point conversion ) . Afterwards , the Cowboys got into position to score late in the game , but Romo botched the hold of a field - goal attempt . He then ran to try for the first down or the touchdown , but was tackled by strong safety Jordan Babineaux . The Seahawks then ran out as much of the clock as they could . With two seconds left , Dallas had one final shot as Romo threw up a Hail Mary pass , but Seattle batted the ball down for the win . With the victory , the Seahawks improved their overall record to 10 - 7 and advanced to the Divisional Round to take on the Chicago Bears . In the words of the Seattle Times , the Seahawks won " a wild wild - card game . " NFC Divisional Round : at Chicago Bears . Coming off the win over the Cowboys , the Seahawks traveled to Soldier Field to face the top - seeded Chicago Bears in the Divisional round . In the first quarter , Seattle trailed early with Bears RB Thomas Jones getting a 9 - yard TD run for the only score of the period . In the second quarter , the Seahawks got on the board with QB Matt Hasselbeck completing a 16 - yard TD pass to WR Nate Burleson . However , immediately following Seattle ' s score , Chicago responded with QB Rex Grossman completing a 68 - yard TD pass to WR Bernard Berrian . The Seahawks struck back with RB Shaun Alexander getting a 4 - yard TD run , yet Jones helped the Bears out with a 7 - yard TD run . In the third quarter , Seattle took the lead with kicker Josh Brown kicking a 40 - yard field goal , while Alexander got a 13 - yard TD run . However , in the fourth quarter , Chicago tied the game with kicker Robbie Gould getting a 41 - yard field goal . In overtime , the Seahawks won the coin toss and received the ball first . Hasselback led the team to around midfield , but on their last third down of the game , he threw the ball out of bounds . On fourth down the Seahawks punted to the Bears who were able to get the ball close enough for Gould to kick a 49 - yard field goal . With the loss , Seattle ended its season with an overall record of 10 - 8 .