Alexander breaks the record for touchdowns in a half
In 2002, Seahawks fans weren't accustomed to watching their team break records. After all, it had been 13 years since Steve Largent set his final record with his 100th receiving touchdown.
So when the 2002 Seahawks entered their Sunday night game against the Vikings at 0-3, records were the furthest thing from most minds.
But on that night, RB Shaun Alexander showed everyone that greatness was exactly what needed to be expected from that offense.
To continue...
Offense in transition
The year of 2002 was an interesting time for Mike Holmgren's Seahawks. The 'Hawks had missed the playoffs two years in a row despite a division title in Holmgren's first year in Seattle.
Young QB Matt Hasselbeck, the high-profile pickup from Green Bay in the previous year, lost the starting job to veteran Trent Dilfer. Meanwhile, WR Koren Robinson was coming off a disappointing rookie year, and LG Steve Hutchinson was still a little-known second-year player.
Alexander already had his breakout year in 2001 but was now no longer the heir apparent to Ricky Watters. Now he was the man and would be tasked with carrying the load for the youthful offense.
It had been a rough start. The Seahawks entered the game on Sept. 29 having scored only 36 points through three games.
The game
The Seahawks had a rude homecoming for former tight end and current Vikings head coach Mike Tice, who'd led Minnesota to a 0-3 start up to that point.
The game's opening drive came almost entirely on the arm of Dilfer, as Alexander managed only five yards rushing, including a two-yard plunge to put Seattle up 7-0.
But after Seattle forced a Vikings punt, he really got started. In one run, a 43-yard scamper on third down and one, he eclipsed his rushing totals from each of the first three games.
He followed it up with a 20-yard run for the score. Unsurprisingly, both runs came off the left side behind Walter Jones and Hutchinson.
In the second quarter, Alexander would add three more scores nearly in the span of a single bathroom break. Capitalizing on two Vikings fumbles, Alexander added 21 points to the board in a 1:05 span (80-yard catch, three-yard run, 14-yard run).
He would get a chance to tie the NFL record for most touchdowns in a game in the fourth quarter with about four minutes to go in the game. But he could only gain four yards on three-straight runs from inside the Vikings 10-yard line.
Alexander would finish the game 139 yards rushing and 92 yards receiving, as the Seahawks won 48-23.
Alexander had already proven himself on a national spotlight, plowing the Raiders for 266 rushing yards on Sunday night the year before.
"You know when everyone's watching, your mom and dad, your friends in high school who thought they were better than you," he said after the game, "you get your chance to get in the spotlight and shine."
More to come
It would continue to be another down year for the 'Hawks, as they finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the third-straight season.
But it was also a season in which everything began to click for the Seattle offense. Hasselbeck would win the starting job back mid-season while Robinson had a breakout year, finishing with a career-high 1,240 receiving yards.
As for Alexander, he would begin to gain recognition as a standout player in the national spotlight and one of the best backs in 'Hawks history.
His patient yet explosive running style was beginning to enter Seahawks lore. But while Alexander provided many great moments during his Seattle career, few equaled the domination and importance of that night in Minnesota.
For number 10, head here.
Reach Jeff Richards at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
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