The Seahawks held on.

That description of Kam Chancellor's fourth-quarter interception was also a pretty accurate summary of Seattle's 13-10 victory over Arizona at CenturyLink Field on Sunday.

The Seahawks never did pull away from the Cardinals. They grabbed a three-point lead late in the third quarter and simply refused to let go for the final 20 minutes.

It wasn't very pretty, and it definitely wasn't easy. Seattle had to survive a 9-yard punt in the fourth quarter, a critical pass-interference penalty and a pair of Cardinals fourth-quarter drives into the red zone.

Trailing by three with 1:15 left and the ball at Seattle's 36, Arizona quarterback Kevin Kolb dropped back to pass and Chancellor anticipated the ball was intended for tight end Todd Heap.

"Your eyes just get big," Chancellor said. "You see opportunity. Once that opportunity is in front of you, you might as well go after it."

Chancellor held on, and so did the Seahawks. His interception was as important as any play in a victory that was more necessary than pretty.

The Seahawks were outgained by 63 yards and benefited from two missed field goals, including a 49-yard attempt that would have tied the game with 5:28 remaining.

Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson scored Seattle's only touchdown on a third-quarter scramble that was more about toughness and ingenuity than execution.

Jackson's 11-yard run produced the only second-half points in a game that wasn't an edge-of-your-seat thriller, but backed Seattle away from the edge of the cliff — avoiding the team's first 0-3 start in 10 years.

"We have a long ways to go," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "We have a lot of work to do, but we got a little bit better today."

Sidney Rice finished with 109 yards receiving in his Seahawks debut. Seattle even had a pair of runs that gained 20 yards, but it wasn't a game that was decided by offensive fireworks.

That was made evident by the fourth-quarter play that Carroll pointed to as the most critical moment of the game.

"Anthony McCoy's fumble recovery," Carroll said. "That was a fantastic play right there."

McCoy's recovery was testament to his alertness. Facing third-and-five near midfield, Jackson was lined up in the shotgun when center Max Unger's snap went high and bounced off Jackson's hands and over his head. McCoy said he heard the crowd's reaction to the fumble before he saw the ball. McCoy ran past Arizona's Darnell Dockett, slid and cradled the ball.

"If that doesn't happen," Carroll said, "then everything is different."

So the play of the game in Seattle's first victory of the season was the backup tight end hustling to recover a fumble on a snap that sailed over the quarterback's head? Sounds about right for a game that wasn't going to win any beauty contests.

But it did constitute progress. The Seahawks even managed to score in the first half for the first time this season when Steven Hauschka kicked a 30-yard field goal with 2:55 left in the first quarter, the first of his two first-half field goals.

Seattle managed to hold onto that lead for 5 whole minutes before the Cardinals tied it. Arizona took the lead midway through the second quarter when wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald made the most impressive play of the game, outleaping two Seahawks defenders for a 12-yard touchdown reception.

But Fitzgerald didn't catch a pass in the second half — he finished with just five receptions for 64 yards — and Arizona had two scoring chances slip through its fingers in the final six minutes as Seattle held on.

Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com