49ERS Seahawks shatter Erickson's return

San Francisco fell to 2-4 with a loss in the coach's home state, against his old team.
SEATTLE (AP) -- The Seattle Seahawks don't believe they've accomplished anything yet, not with 11 games remaining.
They're off to a fine start, though, their best in 17 years.
Josh Brown kicked a 37-yard field goal with 3 minutes, 3 seconds remaining, lifting Seattle to a 20-19 victory over the San Francisco 49ers Sunday night.
The Seahawks matched a 4-1 start from 1986, and they've beaten all three of their NFC West rivals. They beat the Rams and Cardinals last month.
"It gives us room in our division," coach Mike Holmgren said. "That's why this game was really, really important for us. We're in a place now where we haven't been in a while. The more room you can create early on, the more it helps near the end."
Homecoming
It was a frustrating night for the 49ers (2-4) and coach Dennis Erickson, who was born and raised in Everett, Wash., and coached the Seahawks for four seasons before he was fired to make room for Holmgren.
"It means something the first time back, but it was another game to try to get to 3-3," Erickson said.
San Francisco rallied from a 17-0 second-quarter deficit and led 19-17 after Owen Pochman's 33-yard field goal with 8:09 remaining.
The difference turned out to be a missed extra point after 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia scored on a 2-yard bootleg late in the third period. Holder Bill LaFleur bobbled the ball, and Pochman hesitated before punching his kick wide right.
"We miss an extra point, and it becomes a one-point game," Erickson said. "That is basically what happened. We had a chance at the end and turned it over. This is a very disappointing loss, as hard as we fought to come back."
Looking ahead
The Seahawks have a favorable schedule that could keep them atop the division if they can keep their momentum going. Only one of the next seven opponents -- Baltimore (3-2) -- currently has a winning record.
Chicago (1-4) visits next week and then the Seahawks travel to Cincinnati (1-4), followed by a home game against Pittsburgh (2-4). Not that they're paying any attention to those things.
"I'm not even sure who we're playing next week," safety Reggie Tongue said. "We wanted to win this game. The emphasis was there because it's a divisional game. To get where we need to be, we need to be on top of our division at the end of the year."
They did it by creating their own opportunities, which has been a hallmark for the Seattle defense this season.
After Brown's field goal, the 49ers were driving when Seattle's Chad Brown stripped the ball from Garrison Hearst on the first play after the two-minute warning. It popped loose near midfield and safety Ken Hamlin pounced on it.
"I was trying to get out of the way, so Hearst couldn't block me," the linebacker said. "I saw that he had the ball, and I was so far around that all I could do was get around and chop the ball out."