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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, September 26, 2005

Seahawks roll past Cardinals

 •  Cowboys stun 49ers, 34-31

Associated Press

Seattle running back Shaun Alexander, left, fights for yardage in the first quarter as he is tackled by Arizona's Bertrand Berry. The Cardinals rarely stopped Alexander, who rushed for four touchdowns.

TED S. WARREN | Associated Press

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SEATTLE — Shaun Alexander perks his ears when the Arizona Cardinals are next on the schedule.

"I think they talk a lot of mess," Alexander said. "That kind of gets me excited."

Apparently, excitement leads to production.

Alexander, Seattle's Pro Bowl running back, rushed for four touchdowns, two in a 30-second span of the third quarter, and the Seahawks (2-1) broke open a 10-9 halftime lead, cruising to a 37-12 romp over winless Arizona (0-3) yesterday.

Alexander rushed for 135 yards and three scores in the first three quarters, and his 1-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth gave Seattle a 31-12 lead.

Alexander finished with 140 yards on 22 carries.

Arizona lost quarterback Kurt Warner to a right groin injury late in the first half and replaced him with Josh McCown.

Seattle received the second-half kickoff and promptly went 80 yards in 3:09. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was 4 of 4 for 48 yards before Alexander scored from the 1.

On Arizona's ensuing possession, Seattle safety Michael Boulware blitzed, jarring the ball from McCown. Defensive tackle Rocky Bernard fell on the batted-around fumble and rolled to the Arizona 1 before being touched down. Alexander plunged in on the next play following the fumble, giving the Seahawks a 24-9 lead.

BUCCANEERS 17, PACKERS 16

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Lambeau Field isn't such an intimidating place for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers anymore.

Carnell "Cadillac" Williams helped the Buccaneers snap a 13-game road losing streak to Green Bay. He broke Alan Ameche's NFL record for most yards in his first three NFL games by rushing for 158 yards on a sprained left foot.

The Buccaneers, 3-0 for the first time since 2000, also got two touchdown receptions from Joey Galloway and two interceptions from safety Will Allen in winning at Lambeau Field for the first time since Sept 10, 1989.

Ryan Longwell missed an extra point for the first time in 157 attempts, and that was the difference as the Packers fell to 0-3 for the first time since Brett Favre was a sophomore at Southern Miss in 1988.

"It's hard to find a silver lining in 0-3," Favre said. "But as they say, the show must go on and we have to find a way to win a game."

Williams, the first NFL rookie to start his career with three straight 100-yard games, has 434 yards rushing so far, besting Ameche's mark of 410 set in 1955 for the Baltimore Colts.

VIKINGS 33, SAINTS 16

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Tice said two futile games had robbed his offense of its swagger.

It took the Vikings 13 seconds to get it back against New Orleans.

Daunte Culpepper threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns and the Vikings beat the mistake-prone Saints (1-2).

After New Orleans' Aaron Stecker fumbled the opening kickoff, Culpepper hit Travis Taylor for a 24-yard touchdown to get the Vikings rolling.

"We had to develop some type of rhythm, some type of attitude and some type of aggression on the offensive side of the ball," Tice said. "It got us going."

The Vikings (1-2) took advantage of two Saints turnovers deep in their end to take a 24-0 lead in the first half.