Tempe, Ariz. – The Seattle Seahawks came off their bye week rested, relaxed and ready – especially Shaun Alexander.
The powerhouse back gained 173 yards on 23 carries, including touchdown runs of 88 and 14 yards, and the Seattle Seahawks won their fourth in a row by beating the Arizona Cardinals 33-19 on Sunday.
“The run he popped in the second half obviously was a big, big, important play in this game,” Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. “He’s having his best season as far as I’m concerned.”
Alexander went to the locker room late in the second quarter with a stomach ache, then quickly showed he felt much better in the second half.
The 88-yard run, on the first play of the third quarter, tied the franchise record Alexander set against Oakland on Nov. 11, 2001. In the past three games against Arizona, Alexander has gained 467 yards and scored nine touchdowns.
“I think right now he’s playing like the best back in the National Football League,” Cardinals coach Dennis Green said.
The victory gave the Seahawks a season sweep of Arizona and improved their record to 6-2, tied with New York, Carolina and Atlanta for the best record in the conference halfway through the season. It came after Holmgren unexpectedly gave the team an entire week off leading into last Sunday’s bye. He won for the first time after a bye week in seven tries.
“They needed the week off,” Holmgren said. “They were a little banged up, so why not? I needed some time off, too.”
Neil Rackers kicked field goals of 23, 31, 50 and 44 for the Cardinals (2-6) and is 26-for-26 this season.
Kurt Warner, replacing Josh McCown as starting quarterback, completed 29-of-48 passes for 334 yards and a touchdown. He threw three interceptions and was sacked four times. Warner, booed loudly by the crowd, fell to 0-4 as an Arizona starter.
“All across the board again we just made too many mistakes,” Warner said, “just doing the simple things. We’ve got to do a better job on the simple things.”
Green, 8-16 in 1 1/2 seasons as Arizona coach, hinted at another shakeup that could include the quarterback spot.
“I think when you’re on a 2-6 year, you know you’re in territory you’re not accustomed to, nor do you like being in,” he said. “There’s no telling what you’ll do.”
He gave Warner a mixed review.
“Obviously he made some good throws, made some poor throws, got rid of the ball sometimes when he could, held the ball when he shouldn’t,” Green said.
