Leon Washington gets refresher course on return rules | Seahawks notebook

Leon Washington made one point on his third-quarter punt return that may have prevented him from scoring six points.

Washington pointed skyward, then started coasting, only to be tripped by Carolina's punter 2 yards short of the end zone.

"That's rule No. 1 — you can't get tripped by the kicker," Washington said. "I'm really not pleased with myself by that. That was really selfish on me, because when I broke through, I pointed initially and realized the kicker was actually going to try to chase me. I speeded up and I thought he couldn't catch me, and I slowed down the last 10 yards."

The return went for 84 yards.

What should have been Washington's third scoring return of the season turned into the second of Marshawn Lynch's three rushing touchdowns, when he scored on a 1-yard run two plays later.

"I know Marshawn's not upset with him," quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said of Washington getting tripped up.

Washington's return was a little reminiscent of his two kickoff returns for touchdowns against San Diego in Week 3.

"He gave us that spark that he's done before," coach Pete Carroll said. "He's got magic in him, and he lit us up a little bit there."

Just don't expect Washington to downshift again.

"One thing I will do next time, I will try to pull the Forrest Gump and run clean through the stadium to make sure I score," he said.

Can't catch a break

Receiver Mike Williams' foot kept him out of last week's game against Kansas City. It was his ankle that sidelined him in the first quarter of Sunday.

Seattle's leading receiver started the game at split end, but left after the first series because of the injury. Flanker Ben Obomanu also was knocked out of the game, leaving in the second half with a laceration on his right hand that required stitches.

Throw in the fact that tight end John Carlson was inactive because of a hip flexor injury, and the result was a pieced-together passing attack. Brandon Stokley and Deon Butler led Seattle with four receptions apiece, while Cameron Morrah — the No. 3 tight end to start the season — had a team-high 69 yards receiving.

Obomanu was in the locker room after the game, his hand bandaged, and he said he expects to be ready to play next week. Williams' ankle injury isn't believed to be that severe, but the fact that it's attached to an injured foot is problematic.

Seattle hosted receivers Dwayne Jarrett and former Seahawk Bobby Engram for tryouts two weeks ago, so the Seahawks might be looking again.

Knee-d to know basis

Hasselbeck got his foot caught on the turf at the end of the second quarter, resulting in one sack and an awkward fall in which he injured his knee. Hasselbeck got up limping, which sent backup Charlie Whitehurst scrambling to get ready.

"No one hit me or anything," Hasselbeck said. "I think my cleat just got stuck in the turf. Brand-new cleats, first time I wore them. They were a little sticky."

Hasselbeck stayed in the game, and on the next play completed a 14-yard pass to Brandon Stokley to convert a third-and-13.

Sacks in the city

Seattle had not sacked the opposing quarterback in either of its previous two games, but the Seahawks had three sacks of Carolina quarterback Jimmy Clausen — two by Raheem Brock and one by Chris Clemons.

"We wanted to put them in passing situations," Brock said. "We had to shut the running game down first. We regrouped at halftime and did a great job of that, and we were able to put pressure on the quarterback, make things happen."

Run-on sentence

The Seahawks rushed for 35 yards in the first half, which is below average even for the league's worst rushing offense. What happened in the second half might be the most promising sign for the offense as Seattle gained 126 yards on the ground in the final two quarters.

Lynch finished with 83 yards rushing, Forsett gained 60, and the Seahawks had a season-high 161 yards rushing.