Seahawks
Hawks shut down 49ers, 34-0, to begin season with 3 straight wins

The Associated Press

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Matt Hasselbeck threw for 254 yards with two touchdowns, Shaun Alexander scored three TDs and Seattle's defense was magnificent in a 34-0 win over the San Francisco 49ers today.

It was the first time San Francisco failed to score since a 7-0 loss to Atlanta at Candlestick Park on Oct. 9, 1977, breaking its league record spanning 420 regular season and 36 playoff games.

Seattle (3-0), which has allowed only 13 points in its first three games, simply shut down the 49ers (0-3). Second-year quarterback Ken Dorsey was 19-of-32 for 153 yards with two interceptions and San Francisco had only 48 yards rushing.

When the 49ers finally threatened midway through the fourth quarter, Ken Hamlin made an interception in the end zone when Dorsey threw into double coverage.

Later in the fourth, San Francisco drove to the Seattle 32. Chike Okeafor sacked Dorsey to force another fumble and Rashad Moore scrambled to cover the loose ball, sealing the shutout.

The Seattle offense looked better after sputtering last week at Tampa Bay. Hasselbeck had a modest first half, going 10-of-17 for 153 yards and a 3-yard TD pass to Alexander. In the third, Hasselbeck added a 1-yard TD pass to Itula Mili.

Alexander didn't have a huge day rushing, gaining 52 yards on 19 carries. But as usual, he was hard to keep out of the end zone, scoring on two 1-yard runs along with his TD pass from Hasselbeck.

Alexander had a 20-yard gain in the third to set up Josh Brown's second field goal to help Seattle go up 34-0.

Hasselbeck, who completed 21 of 30 passes, turned the offense over to Trent Dilfer with 8:34 to play.

After wins on two long trips to New Orleans and Tampa Bay, the Seahawks kept rolling at home. They went 8-0 last season in Seattle and have won 10 straight at home going back to 2002.
 
The defense set the tone, getting a first-quarter interception by Ken Lucas to set up a field goal. Then came a forced fumble and recovery by Cedric Woodard — leading to 10 easy points.

Lucas ran an interception 25 yards to the San Francisco 26, setting up a 35-yard field goal by Brown. It was 10-0 after Alexander's 1-yard run capped a four-play drive that opened with a 60-yard pass play from Hasselbeck to Bobby Engram.

Later in the period, Woodard burst through to sack Dorsey as he tried to throw, springing the ball loose. Woodard recovered it at the 49ers 15-yard line.

Four plays later, the Seahawks led 17-0 after Hasselbeck hit Alexander for a 3-yard TD pass. Seattle had a big early lead, despite holding the ball for only 5:34 of the first 15 minutes.

The closest the 49ers came to scoring was a 46-yard field goal attempt by former Seahawks kicker Todd Peterson in the second quarter. It was short, and the ball bounced harmlessly off the crossbar.