SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The fact that Matt Hasselbeck and the Seattle Seahawks' offense opened in strong fashion was not a surprise. But the way that Ray Rhodes' defense performed was even more encouraging.
Hasselbeck threw a pair of touchdown passes and Shaun Alexander rushed for 108 yards and scored twice as the Seahawks posted a 27-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints in the season opener for both teams.
Facing the NFC's highest-scoring team from last year, Seattle's defense shined in its first game under new coordinator Rhodes. The new attitude of the defense was exemplified by a vicious hit by rookie safety Ken Hamlin on Donte' Stallworth in the third quarter that knocked the wide receiver's helmet off.
"We played phenomenal defense today," Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said. "I was especially pleased with our linebackers and our secondary."
Seattle took the lead for good with an eight-play, 89-yard drive in the second quarter, aided by a 26-yard pass interference call on cornerback Dale Carter. Alexander capped it with a one-yard TD plunge for a 7-3 lead with just under seven minutes left before halftime.
Michael Lewis fumbled on New Orleans' next series and defensive end Antonio Cochran recovered for Seattle. Two plays later, Hasselbeck hooked up with Koren Robinson for a 35-yard touchdown and a 14-3 cushion.
Alexander added a 10-yard TD catch off a screen pass from Hasselbeck for a 21-3 bulge at halftime.
"It was strange having that big of a lead at halftime," Hasselbeck said. "We're a confident group in the huddle and feel that we can go down the field at any time."
New Orleans' Aaron Brooks completed 29-of-47 passes for 274 yards and one touchdown, but the bulk of those numbers came in the second half. The Saints did not score a touchdown until Brooks threw a two-yard TD to Joe Horn with 8:51 left in the game.
"We started out fairly well, but we had a rough second quarter," Saints coach Jim Haslett said. "We had too many turnovers that led to 21 points."
Alexander, who enters off back-to-back 1,00-yard campaigns, carried 24 times for his ninth career 100-yard effort on the ground. Seattle is 8-1 when Alexander runs for 100 yards or more.
Alexander decided to give the credit to his teammates.
"The guys in front of me are great and they did what they usually do," he said. "Mack (fullback Mack Strong) was beating linebackers up and Walter (Jones) and Steve (Hutchinson) were driving people off the line. My favorite plays are to run left behind those guys."
Hasselbeck finished with modest numbers, completing 12-of-23 passes for 137 yards. But he came up big in Seattle's big second quarter, going 6-of-7 for 99 yards to pace the Seahawks. He registered an NFL-best 109.6 passing rating in leading Seattle to four wins in their final six games last season.
"I didn't feel that I managed the game well in the second half, but being in the lead is a nice place to be," Hasselbeck said.
Hamlin and rookie Marcus Trufant - a pair of newcomers to the Seahawks' secondary - turned in impressive performances. Trufant had his hands full with Horn and Stallworth, but managed to hold his own.
"It was very special for me, but now we have to move on from this, use the momentum and keep going," Trufant said. "Being a rookie I knew that they would come after me, but I was able to stay focused and make plays."
New Orleans had four turnovers and failed to force one by Seattle. The Saints also had 11 penalties for 114 yards while the Seahawks were penalized just twice.
"We had four turnovers today and didn't get any back," Haslett said. "We also had 11 penalties to their two. That probably hurt us more than anything."
The Saints moved the ball early in the game and a 16-yard pass from Brooks to Ernie Conwell set up a 4th-and-1 at the Seahawks' 11-yard line. But New Orleans committed a false start and elected for John Carney's 33-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 5:40 left in the opening quarter.
Robinson made a nice move on his touchdown catch, eluding a sandwich tackle attempt by Ashley Ambrose and safety Tebucky Jones and coasting into the end zone untouched.
Seattle defensive end Chike Okeafor came up with his first career interception when he picked off Brooks in the third quarter. The Seahawks' offense stalled and settled for a 37-yard field goal by Josh Brown to make it 24-3.
After Horn's touchdown cut the deficit to 24-10, New Orleans got the ball back on its nine-yard line with five minutes remaining. The Saints picked up one first down before Okeafor sacked Brooks, who fumbled and the Seahawks recovered.
"They've got good young football players," Haslett said. "Trufant is a first-rounder, but when you turn the ball over, it doesn't make a difference."
Brown's 25-yard field goal with 63 seconds remaining capped the scoring.
