One Record, Almost Two More
Had Steven Hauschka been able to make that 61-yard field goal attempt on fourth down with 13 seconds remaining to play, the Seahawks would have defeated Atlanta 31-30 after trailing 27-7. A 20-point comeback victory would have matched the franchise record for most points overcome to win a game, set on Dec. 10, 1995, when the Seahawks trailed 20-0 at Denver and rallied for a 31-27 victory.
A successful field goal by Hauschka from 61 yards would have broken Josh Brown’s club record of 58 yards, set at Green Bay on Oct. 5, 2003. Hauschka’s 61-yard attempt, which fell short, was the longest ever tried by a Seahawks’ kicker, breaking the old mark of 60 by Efren Herrera vs. Kansas City on Nov. 9, 1980.
Yardage High For Jackson
Tarvaris Jackson exceeded 300 yards passing for the first time in his career (319), breaking his previous single-game high of 249. Jackson had that 249-yard game against the Chicago Bears on Dec. 17, 2007. Jackson’s 25 completions, to nine receivers, matched his career high, first set on Dec. 23, 2007, against Washington.
Jackson’s Passer Rating
Jackson completed 25 of 38 passes for 319 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 96.3. That’s the second-highest single-game rating of Jackson’s career (minimum of 20 passing attempts, trailing only a 110.4 mark he posted on Dec. 2, 2007, for Minnesota against Detroit.
Jackson’s first interception came off a tipped pass. His second occurred after the ball popped out of Zach Miller’s hands in the end zone, courtesy of a play made by Atlanta safety James Sanders.
Had Jackson not suffered those two interceptions, his single-game passer rating would have been 118.2. For comparison purposes: When Matt Hasselbeck threw for 272 yards and four touchdowns in Seattle’s 41-36 win over New Orleans in the 2010 playoffs, his passer rating was 113.0.
Longest In The Series
Tarvaris Jackson’s 52-yard touchdown pass to Sidney Rice marked the longest by the Seahawks in the history of the Seattle-Atlanta series. The previous record: 45 yards, on Dec. 30, 2007, when Seneca Wallace connected with Nate Burleson in a 44-41 Seahawks loss.
Quarterbacks As Rushers
At halftime of Sunday’s game, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan had personally outrushed the Seahawks, 17 yards to 5. Ryan finished with 26 rushing yards, two more than Seattle’s rushing leader, Marshawn Lynch, who had 24 yards. These quarterbacks rushed for the most yards against Seattle:
| Year | Date | Player | Team | Att. | Yards | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Nov. 29 | Steve McNair | Titans | 8 | 64 | 1 |
| 1986 | Nov. 23 | Randall Cunningham | Eagles | 8 | 63 | 0 |
| 2002 | Sept. 29 | Daunte Culpepper | Vikings | 9 | 63 | 1 |
| 1979 | Dec. 2 | Steve Fuller | Chiefs | 4 | 61 | 0 |
| 1995 | Nov. 12 | Mark Brunell | Jaguars | 6 | 60 | 1 |
| 1995 | Sept. 27 | Jeff Blake | Bengals | 5 | 56 | 0 |
| 1999 | Dec. 19 | Brian Griese | Broncos | 4 | 52 | 0 |
| 2002 | Oct. 14 | Jeff Garcia | 49ers | 7 | 48 | 0 |
Quarterbacks Demeaning the Seahawks
On the subject of Ryan’s rushing yards: There have only been two games in franchise history in which the opposing quarterback rushed for more yards than the Seahawks had as a team. On Dec. 12, 1979, Kansas City’s Steve Fuller rushed for 61 yards in a 37-21 Chiefs victory. The Seahawks rushed for 44 yards in that game.
On Nov. 28, 2010, Matt Cassel, also of the Chiefs, rushed for 28 yards in a 42-24 Kansas City victory over the Seahawks. Seattle had 20 rushing yards in that game.
Hasselbeck Continues His Roll
Former Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw three more touchdown passes (now has eight) in Tennessee’s 31-13 victory over Cleveland on Sunday. Hasselbeck has a passer rating of 108.3, up from 102.2 last week. Hasselbeck’s understudy, Jake Locker, the former University of Washington star, got in for a series (his second NFL appearance) and threw one pass, an incompletion.