2006 Seattle Seahawks season
The 2006 Seattle Seahawks season was the franchise's 31st season in the National Football League, fifth season playing at Qwest Field, and eighth under head coach Mike Holmgren. The season began with the team attempting to improve on their 13–3 record from 2005, repeat as National Football Conference champions, and return to the Super Bowl. The team, while winning their NFC West division, only advanced as far as the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs, losing to the eventual NFC champion Chicago Bears in overtime.
Offseason
NFL draft
Personnel
Staff / Coaches
Final roster
Schedule
Preseason
Regular season
Postseason
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | Recap |
| Wild Card | Dallas Cowboys | W 21–20 | 1–0 | Qwest Field | ||
| Divisional | January 14, 2007 | at Chicago Bears | L 24–27 | 1–1 | Soldier Field |
Standings
Game summaries
Preseason
Week P1: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week P2: at Indianapolis Colts
Week P3: at San Diego Chargers
Week P4: vs. Oakland Raiders
Regular season
Week 1: at Detroit Lions
The Seahawks won their regular season opener against the Detroit Lions on September 10. Despite the Seahawks' offense failing to score a single point, Josh Brown had a big day, as he provided all of the Seahawks' points. He kicked a 20-yarder, a 50-yarder, and a 42-yard field goal as time expired to win the game. Meanwhile, the defense limited the Lions to just two field goals.With the win, the Seahawks started out the season at 1–0.
Deion Branch trade
On September 11, the Seahawks announced they had acquired wide receiver Deion Branch in a trade with the New England Patriots. In return, they gave their first-round pick in the 2007 NFL draft to the Patriots.Week 2: vs. Arizona Cardinals
After a low-scoring victory in Detroit, the Seahawks played their Week 2 home-opener against their fellow NFC West rival, the Arizona Cardinals. Unlike Game 1, Seattle's offense got off to a strong start, as running back Shaun Alexander got a 2-yard touchdown run, while quarterback Matt Hasselbeck completed a 49-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darrell Jackson. That's how the rest of the first half would end up. In the third quarter, the score of the period was Arizona kicker Neil Rackers completed a 43-yard field goal. In the fourth quarter, the Seahawks got a 1-yard touchdown run by fullback Mack Strong. The Cardinals would get a touchdown, which would come in the form of a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kurt Warner to wide receiver Bryant Johnson, but fortunately, Seattle would maintain the lead for the win. The Seahawks would extend their home winning streak to 11 straight games and improved to 2–0.Week 3: vs. New York Giants
The Seahawks held on to defeat the New York Giants 42–30 after leading 42–3 going into the 4th quarter. Prior to the game the Giants had complained to the NFL about the level of crowd noise at Qwest Field and suggested that some of the noise was artificial. Last year the Giants were called for 11 false start penalties in a 24–21 overtime loss at Seattle. The complaint became public and the predictable result was a boisterous Seattle crowd and inspired play from the team.Deion Branch saw his first action with the Seahawks as he caught two passes for 23 yards and ran once for eight yards.
One day after the game, the Seahawks reported that MVP running back Shaun Alexander had a cracked bone in his foot that would sideline him for a few weeks.
With the win the Seahawks improved to 3–0 and increased their home game streak to 12 games.
Week 4: at Chicago Bears
The Seahawks met the 3–0 Chicago Bears in a primetime matchup of NFC powerhouses at Soldier Field. The Seahawks took the lead on an early field goal, but momentum quickly shifted to the hometown Bears. Two Matt Hasselbeck interceptions midway through the second quarter led to 10 Chicago points and a 20–6 halftime lead. Any hopes for a comeback were erased after the Bears scored a touchdown on their first possession of the second half for a 27–6 lead.The Seahawks running attack was diminished without the injured Shaun Alexander. Near constant pressure on Hasselbeck, including 5 sacks, thwarted the effectiveness of the 4 receiver offense that had confused the Giants the week before.
The team flight back to Seattle was diverted to South Dakota for a "medical emergency", which turned out to be defensive consultant Ray Rhodes feeling ill after the game. He was checked out at a Rapid City, South Dakota hospital and released.
With the loss, the Seahawks went into their bye week at 3–1.
Week 6: at St. Louis Rams
Still recovering from the loss to the Bears and without Shaun Alexander and wide receiver Bobby Engram, the Seahawks were ineffective for much of the first half. Trailing 21–7, Mike Holmgren blistered the paint in the locker room and a different Seahawks team took the field in the second half. Seattle scored 20 unanswered points to lead 27–21 and looked to have put the game away after a Lofa Tatupu interception late in the game. However, running back Maurice Morris fumbled on the Rams 7-yard line with 2:48 left. A few plays later Rams quarterback Marc Bulger hit Torry Holt with a 67-yard touchdown pass to give the Rams a 28–27 lead with 1:38 remaining.Matt Hasselbeck engineered a final drive from the Seahawks' 17-yard line and led the team to the Rams' 31-yard line. A premature celebration erupted on the Rams' sideline as the Seahawks were called for an illegal formation after Hasselbeck spiked the ball to stop the clock with four seconds left in the game. The Rams believed the Seahawks had committed a false start which would have resulted in a ten-second runoff on the clock that would have ended the game. Instead, the Seahawks were penalized five yards, pushing them back to the 36-yard line. Despite the setback, Josh Brown still kicked a 54-yard field goal to win the game, 30–28.
Brown's kick was tied for the second longest game-winning field goal in NFL history, behind Tom Dempsey's 63-yard effort in 1970. Brown also became the first player in NFL history to make 3 field goals of 49 yards or longer in the same quarter. In the third quarter, Brown achieved the equally rare feat of hitting both uprights on an unsuccessful 34-yard field goal attempt.
With the win, the Seahawks improved to 4–1.
Week 7: vs. Minnesota Vikings
The return of Steve Hutchinson had the 12th man at Qwest Field in a frenzy. A knee injury to Matt Hasselbeck early in the second half silenced them. An early 72-yard touchdown reception by Darrell Jackson staked the Seahawks to a 7–3 lead, but the Vikings scored a touchdown of their own in the second quarter and the teams went to the half tied at 10. On the Seahawks' first possession of the third quarter, Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson rolled onto Hasselbeck's right leg and sent the quarterbacl to the turf well after he had released the ball. Hasselbeck left the field with the assistance of trainers, and did not return. Seneca Wallace took over at quarterback, completing 14 of 25 passes with two interceptions and a fumble in his own endzone. The Seahawks gave up a 15-yard touchdown pass from running back Mewelde Moore to tight end Jermaine Wiggins to trail 17–10 as Hasselbeck was walking to the locker room. They looked to have weathered the storm and recaptured momentum when punter Ryan Plackemeier pinned the Vikings on their own 5-yard line. The next play resulted in the Vikings' longest ever touchdown play, a 95-yard romp by Chester Taylor that brought back memories of Bo and the Boz. Suddenly the deficit was 14 points. The Seahawks drove for a field goal to cut the lead to 11, but a failure to convert a 4th and 1 play on the next drive ended any hope of pulling out the game. The loss ended the Seahawks' 12-game winning streak at home.An MRI scan on Hasselbeck's knee revealed a second degree sprain and he missed 4 games.
With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 4–2 and their 12-game winning streak at home was snapped.
Week 8: at Kansas City Chiefs
The Seahawks ventured to Arrowhead Stadium without stars Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander. Seneca Wallace made his first career start in a stadium where the Seahawks have won only twice in their last 20 visits. The story of the game was not the Seahawks' wounded offense, but rather the failure of the supposedly healthy defense.The Chiefs controlled the ball for over 42 minutes of the contest, piled up 499 total net yards, and were able to sustain drives all afternoon. The Seahawks defense was only able to force one Chiefs punt, early in the fourth quarter. Despite being dominated in time of possession and yardage, the Seahawks found themselves leading the game 28–27 after a Kelly Herndon 61-yard touchdown return of a fumbled field goal attempt and a 49-yard touchdown grab by Darrell Jackson with just over 6 minutes remaining. The Chiefs responded as they had all game, with an 8-play, 80-yard drive capped off by Larry Johnson's fourth touchdown of the game. A successful 2-point conversion made the score 35–28. A last drive by the Seahawks ended when Seneca Wallace completed a short sideline pass to fullback Mack Strong for 8 yards on 4th down and 15 from the Chiefs 46-yard line.
Fox became the sixth network to air a game between these two teams. All Sunday afternoon meetings between 1977 to 1997 were aired on NBC, then from 1998 to 2001 on CBS. ESPN broadcast Sunday night games in 1992 and 1998, TNT aired a Thursday night game in 1996, and ABC aired a Monday night game in 2000.
With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 4–3.