Notebook | Koren Robinson breaks his own record with 90-yard pass play

Koren Robinson might not be the speedster and breakaway threat he was earlier in his career. Try telling that, though, to him and those who watched the veteran wide receiver turn for the ball, make the grab and then race down the field for a 90-yard touchdown on the Seahawks' first play from scrimmage Sunday.

Philadelphia safety Brian Dawkins was too slow to catch Robinson. Seahawks receiver Bobby Engram blasted cornerback Lito Sheppard with a block and Robinson was gone for the longest pass play and play from scrimmage in Seahawks history, topping the pass play of 83 yards that he had against St. Louis in 2002.

"I can still play, and I say that humbly," Robinson said. "I just had to get opportunities to show people that I can still play, and that [touchdown] was an opportunity. Once I got past Dawkins I pretty much thought I could go all the way."

The play was, as Robinson described it, a hitch-and-go. Robinson ran the route, looked back, saw quarterback Seneca Wallace pump-fake then throw, and got to the ball.

He never saw Engram's block but heard about it afterward.

"Bobby was like, 'I hit that boy so hard I think I messed my lip up,' " Robinson said. "That's what you've got to have, teammates that'll sell out."

Wallace said the Seahawks originally wanted to run a reverse but didn't have good enough field position. He didn't think the play would go for a touchdown.

"We tried it and they bit, and it worked out well," coach Mike Holmgren said.

The play was bittersweet for Robinson, given that the Seahawks lost the game 26-7. But it was meaningful as Robinson's first touchdown as a Seahawk since the 2004 season, which was his last before he was released and spent the next three years in Minnesota and Green Bay.

Wallace's self-review

Asked how he would rate his three performances as the Seahawks starting quarterback, Wallace told reporters, "I don't know, you guys rate it for me."

Wallace was 13 of 29 for 169 yards — 90 on one play.

"I'm going in the right direction," he said. "I try to do my best to get the ball in the receivers' hands. ... I try to do my best and they try to do their best and that's all we can ask for."

Under pressure

Safety Jordan Babineaux came unimpeded toward quarterback Donovan McNabb on a first-quarter blitz.

The Eagles quarterback stepped to his right, Babineaux ran right by and then McNabb completed a 44-yard pass to tight end Brent Celek. The play set a precedent — not just for Celek, who caught six passes for 131 yards, but also for McNabb, who turned into a matador when Seattle blitzed him.

"He's a strong man," coach Mike Holmgren said. "We had him a couple of times, and he shrugged people off and made throws in the second half."

Seattle sacked McNabb once, in the third quarter for a loss of 2 yards.

Seattle has struggled all season to get sacks when it sends linebackers and safeties on the pass rush, allowing opposing quarterbacks to exploit one-on-one matchups against its cornerbacks.

"If we commit to the blitz ... we have to get home," Holmgren said. "Otherwise we put our defensive backs in a very vulnerable position."

Seattle's pressure did appear to affect McNabb in the first quarter. He didn't complete any of his first seven passes and was only 3-for-13 passing in the first quarter. He completed his next 13 passes in the game, though, including a pair of second-quarter touchdowns. He completed 25 of his 30 pass attempts over the final three quarters.

"They found a way to adjust, and pick up a few blitzes," Seattle safety Brian Russell said. "That's when McNabb got in too much of a rhythm."

Here's the kicker

Seattle had plenty of reasons to kick itself after its only second-half trip into Philadelphia territory.

First, there was the ball Keary Colbert almost caught in the end zone in what would have been a great touchdown catch. Then came the false-start penalty against Mike Wahle after Holmgren decided to go for it on fourth down, and finally, a delay-of-game penalty because Seattle couldn't manage to get 11 people on the field for punt coverage.

One thing that shouldn't be second-guessed is the decision not to attempt what would have been a field goal of more than 50 yards. It was into the wind and outside the range that had been determined as makable by special-teams coach Bruce DeHaven.

Notes

• LB Lofa Tatupu missed Sunday's game, inactive with a groin injury that kept him out of practice all of the previous week. It was the first game the fourth-year linebacker has missed in his NFL career, ending a streak of 62 consecutive games played, including the postseason. D.D. Lewis started at middle linebacker for Tatupu and had seven tackles, two for loss.

• Rookie fullback Owen Schmitt started for Leonard Weaver Sunday, though Weaver could have played on a sore foot if absolutely necessary. Schmitt caught three passes for 10 yards in his first career NFL start.

"It was exciting," Schmitt said. "A chance to kind of show the coaches and the organization that I kind of know what I'm doing and give them a little confidence. It was fun, though."

Times staff reporter Danny O'Neil contributed to this story.