In NFC’s Two-Horse Race, It’s Seattle by a Nose
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was without both of his starting receivers yesterday, but that didn’t stop him from leading Seattle to a 37-31 win over NFC West rival St. Louis and a spot atop the division.
Seattle won the West last season despite losing to the Rams in both regular season meetings and again in the first round of the playoffs. At 3-2 with a win over St. Louis, Seattle is now the clear favorite to win the division, which is essentially a two-team race, with 1-4 Arizona and 1-4 San Francisco not likely to muster much of a challenge.
The absence of receivers Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram thrust former Giant Joe Jurevicius into the role of the Seahawks’ no. 1 receiver, and he produced with career highs of nine catches and 137 yards. Jurevicious, in his first season with the Seahawks, has good hands and doesn’t hesitate to catch balls over the middle, which is exactly the kind of receiver Hasselbeck needs in Seattle.
Seattle left tackle Walter Jones and left guard Steve Hutchinson opened huge holes for Shaun Alexander, who carried 25 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns. In an effort to stop Alexander, St. Louis frequently lined up safety Adam Archuleta near the line of scrimmage, an alignment coaches call “eight in the box.” But Seattle effectively countered that tactic with motion in the backfield, spreading out their formations with an extra receiver who Archuleta would have to cover.
The Rams passing game clicked despite the absence of injured receiver Isaac Bruce. Receiver Torry Holt consistently beat Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant, using quick routes to the outside to blow past Trufant’s aggressive press coverage, and Holt finished the game with eight catches for 126 yards.
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The New England Patriots won yet another close game on a last-minute field goal from Adam Vinatieri, this time beating the Atlanta Falcons 31-28.
New England’s already injury-riddled defense was without another top player, as defensive lineman Richard Seymour sat out with a knee injury. On the other side of the field, Matt Schaub filled in for injured Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and took advantage of the Patriots’ casualties, passing for 298 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in only his second career start.
But as much as the Patriots defense struggled against Schaub, the Falcons defense struggled even more against Tom Brady.
What separates Brady from most quarterbacks is the way he exploits mismatches. He found a huge one yesterday when the Falcons assigned linebacker Ike Reese to the task of covering tight ends Daniel Graham and Ben Watson. The two tight ends are bigger and faster than Reese, and Brady consistently found them open downfield – the pair combined for six catches, 152 yards, and two touchdowns. Their effort was emboldened by a solid ground game, which the Patriots have lacked thus far in 2005. After amassing just 223 yards in his first four games, Corey Dillon ran for 106 in his best game of the season.
Despite the loss, Schaub showed that he can play well enough to be an everyday starter in the NFL. He’ll get that opportunity some day, but with Vick locked into a long-term contract with the Falcons, the opportunity isn’t likely to come in Atlanta.
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One young quarterback whose future is looking less certain is Buffalo’s J.P. Losman. The Bills’ 2004 first-round draft choice started the first four games this year, but was benched yesterday in favor of Kelly Holcomb after posting a dismal quarterback rating of 55.9 on the season. The Bills won, 20-14, and Holcomb, who completed 20 of 26 passes, seems likely to retain the starting job.
Losman has a stronger arm and better mobility than Holcomb, but Holcomb makes quick decisions, whereas Losman too often hesitates when he sees an open receiver and gives opposing defenses time to recover. Holcomb also knows some veteran tricks, including adjusting his cadence to draw the defense offside. That tactic worked beautifully yesterday, inducing Miami to jump six times.
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No veteran quarterback understands such tactics better than Brett Favre, whose Green Bay Packers finally notched a win with a 52-3 rout of the New Orleans Saints, who turned in a halfhearted performance and appear to be collapsing under the strain of having to evacuate their homes and their home stadium after Hurricane Katrina.
Nearly everyone had written the Packers off, but yesterday’s win brings their record to 1-4, exactly where they were after five games last season, when they ended up winning the NFC North. The 2-2 Detroit Lions occupy the top space in the division, so the Packers don’t have far to go.
Detroit took the division lead by winning the day’s strangest game, a 35-17 manhandling of the rapidly sinking Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore coach Brian Billick was apoplectic as officials ejected two of his players and penalized his team 21 times, one short of the NFL record. Billick also lost a bizarre replay challenge on a play that appeared to be an incomplete pass but was ruled a fumble that Lions running back Kevin Jones picked up off the ground and ran 27 yards. Billick has been a frequent critic of the league’s instant replay system, and although his comments after the game were measured, it’s safe to say he’s even less a fan of the technology now.
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For the second straight week, the Philadelphia Eagles fell behind 17-0 early. But unlike last week’s come-from-behind victory in Kansas City, Philadelphia couldn’t make up the ground in Dallas yesterday, losing 33-10.
Despite Philadelphia’s frequent blitzing, the Cowboys’ offensive line gave quarterback Drew Bledsoe plenty of time to hit several deep passes and finish with 289 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard was the most frequent target of Bledsoe’s aerial attack. Receiver Terry Glenn torched him several times, finishing the game with seven catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
Before the season, no team was a bigger favorite to win its division than Philadelphia in the NFC East. But with the loss to Dallas, and the strong starts by the 3-1 Giants and Washington Redskins (who fell to 3-1 with a loss at Denver), the Eagles are now looking up from the cellar.
Mr. Smith is a writer fo rFootball-Outsiders.com.