That was Seahawks football

Seattle salvaged its season prospects with today's triumph over Arizona.

Our offense came convincingly alive for the first time in more than a year. Matt Hasselbeck returned to Pro Bowl form, throwing for 333 yards and a touchdown. And, to silence everyone who salivates over Charlie Whitehurst's big arm, Hasselbeck completed bombs of 66, 44, 40 and 32 yards.

Mike Williams looked unstoppable, catching 11 passes for 145 yards. Ben Obomanu and Deon Butler stepped up, catching balls and running reverses for a combined 150 yards.

After Marshawn Lynch softened up Arizona's defense, Justin Forsett gouged them, averaging more than 7 yards per carry. Both running backs wound up with touchdowns.

Seahawks offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates got into a serious playcalling groove today. An endlessly inventive, Stan Getz kind of groove.

Bates rediscovered the secret of moving a Seahawks offense whose only reliable feature is a Pro Bowl quarterback: Throw to set up the run. And then throw some more to keep the defense off balance.

Even when Hasselbeck exited briefly due to injury, Bates did not miss a beat. He continued to dial up pass after pass, and Charlie Whitehurst was money, except when he threw an interception to remind us why he is not the quarterback of the present.

Our offense held the ball for 35 minutes, giving our defense time to catch their breath and maintain their intensity.

The defense did their part and came up big.

Linebacker Aaron Curry finally looked like a first round draft pick, recording 7 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 forced fumble.

Philadelphia castoff Chris Clemons also twice sacked Derek Anderson.

Rookie free safety Earl Thomas flew around the field, hitting Cardinal ball carriers like a guided missile. Late in the game, Arizona wideout Early Doucet declined to haul in an easy pass, evidently because Thomas was closing in fast.

For most of the game, the secondary provided smothering coverage, while the front seven exerted consistent pressure on Derek Anderson. "Slim" Kelly Jennings--our oft-maligned undersized corner--grabbed a pick.

We held Arizona to negative yardage in the third quarter.

The special teams did their part. Olindo Mare kicked 5 field goals and put the ball in the end zone on 8 out of 9 kickoffs. Leon Washington returned one punt for 48 yards.

Best of all, for a team that appeared to quit in the two previous games, Seattle never let up. For example, when Arizona attempted an onside kick in the fourth quarter, Will Herring entered the scrum belatedly. Several Cardinals and only one other Seahawk started closer to the ball than he did. Yet, minutes later, Herring emerged from the pile, clutching the pigskin. Seattle led by 11 at that point, but the reserve linebacker and special teams stalwart refused to let Arizona have the ball. (Herring's efforts proved academic, as an illegal touching penalty awarded the ball to the Seahawks. Moreover, it is not clear that the officials would have recognized Herring's recovery of the ball, absent a penalty. But none of those qualifiers detract from the glorious and ferocious tenacity demonstrated by Herring.)

Of course, no win is perfect, and the Seahawks still have plenty to work on.

Olindo Mare, eerily clutch for so many months until last week, missed a chip shot field goal again today.

Hasselbeck threw a few bad balls that should have been intercepted.

Starting tight end John Carlson continues to be a non-factor. Arizona held him without a catch. He did get open once, in the end zone, but failed to haul in the ball.

Our offense left a lot of points on the table, settling for field goals far too often because we couldn't score touchdowns.

We still struggle to establish the run. Our offensive line remains too feeble to convert any of the multiple short-yardage rushing attempts we hazarded. If the other team knows we're going to run, they can stop us almost every time.

Seemingly heedless of our feeble inability to run the ball, Pete Carroll continues to coach like a gambling addict at times. Early in the game, when Seattle led by only 7 points, he opted to go for it on 4th and 1 rather than kick an easy field goal and take a two-score lead. (Although we needed less than a foot, our line proved unable to push even that far, and Hasselbeck fell down short of the mark, turning over the ball on downs to the Cardinals.) Fortunately, we did not need those points, but in a closer game, those kinds of decisions can be deadly.

In a similarly encouraging vein, Carroll wisely reverted to conservatism after that, opting invariably for easy field goals over uncertain 4th down conversion attempts for the rest of the game.

But fine tuning can wait a few days. Tonight we can enjoy the most significant victory of the season, which has given us sole (albeit tenuous) possession of first place in the NFC West. (Thanks to San Francisco for knocking St. Louis back a game.)