SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Ryan Leaf threw a touchdown pass in his return to the starting lineup, but it was to the wrong guy.
Cornerback Willie Williams picked off Leaf's pass intended for Mikhael Ricks and ran it back 69 yards for a touchdown midway through the third quarter, leading the Seattle Seahawks to a 20-12 victory over the San Diego Chargers.
Leaf, who was benched last week for his inconsistent play but regained his starting job after his replacement Moses Moreno suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter of that game, left the game today late in the third quarter with a wrist injury.
"I do not know how he is, what the final word is," Chargers coach Mike Riley said. "I do know that what happened is that he lost strength in his hand and he couldn't grip the ball."
He completed 16-of-26 passes for 153 yards, but the one interception he threw was devastating to the Chargers (0-4), who are off to their worst start since 1992.
Kris Heppner missed a field goal in the fourth quarter that would have given Seattle (2-2) some breathing room, but their defense held fast.
Jon Kitna connected on 11-of-21 for 196 yards, including a 68-yard scoring strike to rookie Darrell Jackson with five seconds left in the first quarter that put the Seahawks ahead to stay, 10-6.
John Carney hit field goals of 41, 28 and 24 yards for the Chargers, while Heppner connected from 25 and 26 yards for the Seahawks.
Jim Harbaugh took over after Leaf left with the wrist injury and completed 6-of-13 passes for 67 yards, but after moving the Chargers to the Seahawks 16, could not complete a fourth-down-and-3 conversion to keep the drive alive.
"I really did feel good about it," Harbaugh said. "We had them on the ropes. It just felt like we were going to get in and we didn't. It was disappointing."
Tight end Freddie Jones made four catches for 22 yards in the Chargers' last drive, and finished the day with eight for a career-high 82 yards.
The Chargers' defense played well enough to keep the team in the game, but the offense -- whether directed by Leaf or Harbaugh -- could not get the ball into the end zone.
Seattle managed just 269 yards total offense, and Kitna was sacked five times, losing 35 yards. The five sacks were the most by the Chargers since they recorded six against Cleveland on December 5, 1999.
