San Francisco buried in Seattle

The Seahawks are on a nine-game winning streak.
SEATTLE (AP) -- Matt Hasselbeck got up wheezing after throwing his first incompletion Sunday. San Francisco's Derek Smith had just buried his helmet into the Seattle quarterback's chest and drove him into the ground.
"I was just trying to breathe. I felt like I was underwater," he said.
A few welcomed running plays later, Hasselbeck found his breath -- and then flooded the futile 49ers. He completed 21 of 25 passes for 226 yards and a season-high four touchdowns in just three quarters to breeze his NFC-leading Seahawks past San Francisco, 41-3.
Bobby Engram caught two of Hasselbeck's scoring throws, as the NFC West champions (11-2) won their team-record ninth straight game. They also showed they might bring along a hot quarterback with NFL rushing leader Shaun Alexander into the playoffs.
Some credit
"The biggest thing people are missing is, Matt's been leading us on this nine-game winning streak," said Joe Jurevicius, who caught one of Hasselbeck's TD passes.
The only other time Hasselbeck threw more than three scores in his 104-game career was a five-TD performance on Nov. 23, 2003, an overtime loss at Baltimore.
"I really hate saying good things about him, because it goes to his head," center Robbie Tobeck said, almost laughing. "All you hear about is Shaun, which is great. He's deserved it. But Matt's done a great job leading this team."
Tobeck has been where this franchise never has gone: the Super Bowl. He went with Atlanta in 1998, when Falcons quarterback Chris Chandler got hot late in the season.
"You can't win in the playoffs if you don't have a quarterback who is playing well; it's impossible to do it without that," he said.
Alexander added 108 yards on 21 carries and his league-leading 23rd touchdown rushing late in the third quarter. He is four TDs from the league's single-season record of 27, set by Priest Holmes of Kansas City in 2003.
The Seahawks completed their division schedule 6-0, the first time in the franchise's 30-year history it has been spotless within its division.
Getting help
Seattle's perfect day didn't end there: Chicago and Carolina, its closest competitors for the top seed in the NFC playoffs, both lost. The Seahawks have a two-game lead for playoff home-field advantage with three games to play.
How important might that be? They are 21-4 in the regular season and postseason at home since the end of the 2002 season.
"We have the opportunity to do some wonderful things," coach Mike Holmgren said. "I can't see that there would be any chance of a letdown."
San Francisco (2-11) stayed with the Seahawks through its first drive, which ended with a 39-yard field goal. Rookie quarterback Alex Smith completed his first two passes in his second start since returning from a five-week knee injury.
But then Smith hit on just 2 of 11 throws while playing behind an offensive line with new starters in all five positions since last season. In that horrid stretch, Smith dropped the ball trying to throw it to avoid a sack and fumbled, one of three he had. He also threw a pass high and behind running back Terry Jackson that Seattle's Lofa Tatupu intercepted.
Abysmal
San Francisco had just 108 yards of offense through three periods.
"It is not this Sunday we are playing for, but things down the road that are ahead of us," Smith said. "We are trying to get better -- especially myself. It is something I take to heart."
The Seahawks immediately took to San Francisco's defensive attempt to crowd the line against Alexander and force Hasselbeck to win through the air. Dallas and the New York Giants largely succeeded with that tack in recent games.
But Hasselbeck completed eight of his first nine passes for three touchdowns over the first 15:22 of the game.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.