TEMPE, Arizona (Ticker) -- The Seattle Seahawks were there for one of Emmitt Smith's greatest moments. It was only fitting that they were present on a day when Smith suffered one of his worst losses.
Matt Hasselbeck threw for a pair of long touchdown passes to Darrell Jackson and ran for another as the Seahawks cruised to a 38-0 whipping of the Arizona Cardinals in Smith's home debut.
Seattle was the opponent of the Dallas Cowboys last season when Smith broke Walter Payton's all-time rushing record. The future Hall of Famer had a decent debut with 54 yards on 14 carries, but the Seahawks simply dominated on both sides of the ball.
"Today was one of those days that if it is going to happen to you one time a year, I'm glad it happened to us now," Smith said. "I don't see this happening again."
A two-yard keeper for a touchdown by Hasselbeck opened the scoring in the first quarter. Seattle linebacker Randall Godfrey made it 14-0 when he picked up a fumble by backup quarterback Josh McCown and ran it back 55 yards for his second career touchdown.
Hasselbeck hit Jackson for a 55-yard touchdown just before halftime that gave the Seahawks (2-0) a 24-0 advantage. The two hooked up again on a 66-yard play on Seattle's third play of the second half to open up a 31-point bulge.
Arizona (0-2) lost starting quarterback Jeff Blake to a bruised left heel late in the first quarter and turned the ball over on its first four possessions. McCown played the remainder of the game and was picked off twice.
"Well, defense got all those turnovers," Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said. "We have a fast defense and its's starting to show, because we're picking up the tipped passes and I hope we can do that all season long."
The Cardinals suffered their worst loss by shutout since 1936, when the team was based in Chicago. Arizona also endured its worst home loss since a 52-10 setback to Philadelphia in 1981, when the team was based in St. Louis.
"The main reason early was we turned the ball over four or five times in the first 15 minutes of the ballgame," Arizona coach Dave McGinnis said. "But you know what, even if that happens, you've got to fight."
Despite Smith's debut in front of his new fans, the crowd of 23,127 fans was the second-smallest in Arizona history.
The Seahawks played without receiver Koren Robinson, who was suspended for missing a team meeting on Friday. Shaun Alexander rushed 13 times for 51 yards and one touchdown, but Maurice Morris picked up the slack with 67 yards on 11 carries.
Seattle rookie safety Ken Hamlin forced a fumble by Bryant Johnson, who caught a 12-yard pass from Blake on the game's first play from scrimmage and fellow rookie Marcus Trufant scooped it up and returned it to the Arizona 6. Three plays later, Hasselbeck scored up the middle.
"It's not just one guy, but no question, Ken Hamlin, for a rookie, has really impressed a lot of people and he doesn't seem like a rook," Hasselbeck said.
"We are starting to get a little more of a rhythm, but that defense again gave us a lot of opportunities," Holmgren said. "It was the start of good things by the secondary as Reggie Tongue intercepted a pass from Blake on the next Arizona series. Blake was also picked off by Chad Brown his next time out.
"You can't turn the football over like that," McGinnis said. "You can't start a game and put yourself 17 down. You cannot do it. There is no reason for it."
Arizona actually held the ball for most of the first half, registering more than 21 minutes of time of possession. But Seattle still came up with defensive plays despite the hot desert weather.
"Dave McGinnis before the game said that it was a good thing we didn't play last week because it was even worse," Holmgren said. "You know, it's a physical test for both teams."
The Seahawks got a 37-yard field goal from rookie Josh Brown with 6:08 left before halftime for a 17-0 cushion. The Cardinals tried to answer, but Bill Gramatica's 53-yard field goal was wide right.
Hasselbeck, whose first five passes were incomplete, then proceeded to hit Jackson for the two long scores on the next two possessions. Those two plays accounted for most of his numbers as the Seattle quarterback finished 8-of-19 for 175 yards.
"I feel, and I think that our offense feels, that we are only scratching the surface of how good we can be," Hasselbeck said.
Tongue added an interception of a pass by McCown in the end zone in the third quarter. Hamlin added his first career interception in the final minute.
McCown completed 18-of-32 passes for 150 yards for Arizona, which amassed 286 yards of total offense. Rookie Anquan Boldin, who had a spectacular debut last week with 10 catches for 207 yards and two touchdowns, caught eight passes for 62 yards.
