*Hasselbeck leads Seahawks to NFC West title*
SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Matt Hasselbeck and the Seattle Seahawks are on a roll. They are also the NFC West champions yet again.
Hasselbeck threw for four touchdowns and the Seahawks got off to a fast start and rolled to a 42-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
The win was Seattle's fifth straight and it wrapped up a fourth consecutive NFC West title. The victory gives the Seahawks a three-game lead and a tiebreaker over the Cardinals with three games to play.
"Needless to say, it is a very happy locker room," Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said. "It is my understanding that we are division champs, and that was our first goal for this season. We have to finish the regular season strong. I think that we have built up something, and we are building on something that we established halfway through the season and now must continue doing that."
The Seahawks (9-4) opened up a quick 10-0 lead and were in front, 24-0, in the second quarter. Hasselbeck, who completed 22-of-33 passes for 272 yards, did most of his damage in the first half when the Seahawks put the game away.
Nate Burleson hauled in a 7-yard TD from Hasselbeck in the first quarter, and Bobby Engram and Deion Branch were on the receiving end of TD passes in the second quarter. Marcus Pollard caught Hasselbeck's final TD pass, a 3-yarder early in the fourth quarter.
Marcus Trufant had a pair of interceptions for the Seahawks, including one he returned 84 yards for a TD in the fourth quarter that made it 42-14. It was Trufant's sixth pick of the season and the first return for a TD in his career.
"Hey, I'm just out there trying to do a job. I give a lot of credit to the D-linemen, the boys up front that are mixing it up," Trufant said. "They make the quarterbacks very uncomfortable and anytime they can do that, it makes my job a whole lot easier."
While Hasselbeck was having another solid game, Kurt Warner struggled for Arizona (6-7).
Warner was 28-of-46 for 337 yards and three TDs but also threw five interceptions for the Cardinals, who beat the Seahawks, 23-20, at home in Week Two but are now 1-6 on the road.
"I am very frustrated, very disappointed," Warner said. "You know, I feel like I let my team down. I made some crucial mistakes that really hurt our team in a big game. Extremely disappointed about it. But I will take this one on my shoulders and I'll get back to work on Monday and get ready for the last three."
After Warner hit Jerheme Urban for a 2-yard TD in the third quarter, Arizona was within 27-14 and had some momentum. The Cardinals then recovered an onside kick but Warner was intercepted by Trufant on the next play.
"It really comes down to not turning the ball over," Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "It seems to me that when we don't turn the ball over, we're a pretty good team. When we do turn the ball over, we make it very difficult on ourselves, which is logical.
"We had a little bit of momentum and then we turn the ball over. Against a very good opponent, which the Seahawks are, you can't do that."
Hasselbeck has now thrown for 15 TDs against five interceptions in Seattle's last seven games and is a big reason why the Seahawks are again division champs.
"It's a great feeling. Four division titles in a row," Hasselbeck said. "I remember when the NFC West was formed and San Fran was really good, they had T.O (Terrell Owens) and (Jeff) Garcia, and the St. Louis Rams were coming off of Super Bowl after Super Bowl, and it felt impossible for us to get a win in St. Louis at the time.
"Slowly, but surely, we had enough guys helping us believe that hey, we get there someday, and here we are."
