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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 10:39 a.m., Sunday, December 14, 2008

NFL: Seahawks rally in second half to beat Rams 23-20

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — Olindo Mare's 27-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Seattle Seahawks past the St. Louis Rams 23-20 today.

Seattle tied the game on T.J. Duckett's 1-yard run with 2:47 to go.

The Rams scored 17 points in the first half, more than in all but two entire games, while rolling up 243 yards. They reverted to their bumbling form the rest of the way while losing to an injury-ravaged team without Matt Hasselbeck and tackle Walter Jones.

The Seahawks, who walloped the Rams 37-13 in Seattle in September, didn't miss the opening. Duckett's touchdown from about a half-yard out capped an 80-yard drive, and the Rams were hampered before getting back the ball when Haslett unsuccessfully challenged the ruling from a scrum at the goal line.

The Rams went three-and-out on the ensuing series, leaving the Seahawks time to mount the victorious six-play, 60-yard drive. The big play was a 45-yard pass from Seneca Wallace to a wide-open Deion Branch to the 9.

The game was the franchise's fifth to be blacked out on local TV the last three seasons, and the 65,000-capacity Edward Jones Dome appeared about two-thirds full despite an announced attendance of 56,123. The fans who showed up seemed interested mostly in booing excitable guard Richie Incognito after one of his four penalties.

The Seahawks had targeted Incognito in the buildup to the game, accusing him of dirty play.

Seattle (3-11) was held to 76 yards in the first half before its turnaround to break a six-game losing streak. The Rams (2-12) have dropped eight straight.

Steven Jackson ran for 91 yards and a touchdown and Jason Craft led an energized defense with two fumble recoveries in the first half for the Rams.

Each team lost two fumbles in the first half, both of the St. Louis takeaways by cornerback Jason Craft in Seattle territory. The Rams got only a 36-yard field goal by Josh Brown out of those breaks, quickly giving the ball right back after Craft forced and recovered a fumble by Josh Wilson on the ensuing kickoff at the Seattle 42.

The Rams' two first-half touchdowns matched their total from the previous five games. Jackson's 6-yard run in the second quarter capped an 18-play, 97-yard march — their longest drive of the year in terms of plays and yards.