ARLINGTON, Texas -- The psyche and impressive football will of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck seems as if it's held together by iron and steel. His body? It's simply not as impervious as his mental makeup.Those cracked ribs, the chronic disc injury in his back, a sore right shoulder and assorted other aches that would put most NFL quarterbacks on the sideline did not make Hasselbeck a spectator in a runaway 38-17 Dallas Cowboys' victory over Seattle on Sunday at Cowboys Stadium.
When Cowboys defensive end Jason Hatcher plowed into Hasselbeck following a short 3rd-down completion to Deion Branch late in the third quarter, the Seahawks' gritty quarterback crumpled to the turf, grabbing his still-damaged ribcage and signaling to the sideline that his right shoulder also was injured.
Common sense would have dictated that Seattle -- which gave up an 82-yard Patrick Crayton punt return for a touchdown on the ensuing play from scrimmage, turning this into a 35-10 rout -- would pull its 34-year-old battered team leader and give Seneca Wallace the remaining snaps.
That did not sit well with Hasselback, who was in on the next series.
Seattle (2-5), which has lost five of its last six games, may be a team under siege yet again by injuries and the ravages of time and age. But this is the enduring image of Hasselbeck fighting back: He stayed in the game, and tried to defeat the Cowboys' pass rush by continuing to throw quick passes and getting running back Julius Jones involved.
Hasselbeck completed 22-of-39 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns, but he'll be a regular in the training room again this week.
"We had some positives out there," said Hasselbeck, who was happy to see the Seahawks' defense force a Tony Romo fumble midway through the fourth quarter that he was able to convert into a 4-yard touchdown pass to fullback Justin Griffith. "But at the same time if we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to get the same results."
Damion McIntosh, the fourth replacement this season for injured All-Pro left tackle Walter Jones, surrendered consecutive sacks at the end of the third quarter. That revolving door at Seattle's most important pass protection position hasn't helped Hasselbeck get through this difficult season, nor did Sundays' three pass interference calls on former Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Trufant, who made his season debut after a stint on the PUP list (back injury) in dubious fashion.
In the Cowboys locker room, guys who tackled, sacked and chipped at Hasselbeck all afternoon expressed nothing but high regard for his fortitude.
"I'll tell you what, man, that was so much about him and the competitor that he is," Dallas linebacker Keith Brooking said. "He's a proven guy in this league. He's had a lot of success. And I've got a lot of admiration and respect for him.
"I know he's struggling with those ribs, and he was getting hit a lot back there in the backfield. But he just kept fighting and kept trying to put his team in position."
Was Brooking surprised to see Hasselbeck finish the game?
"I think that pretty much sums up what kind of player he is, the kind of person he is, and what this game means to him," Brooking said.
Seattle may be able to regroup next week with a home game against the 1-6 Lions. "I don't think there's a mindset of having a losing mentality here on this team," said receiver Nate Burleson, who caught six passes for 89 yards.
That seems to be the attitude of the struggling Seahawks.
"I don't question our competitiveness," first-year coach Jim Mora said. "I don't question our fight. I don't question any of those things. I think that they're desperate to win."
Certainly Hasselbeck is. Whether he can physically survive out there long enough to get his teammates on the winning track depends on how far sheer determination can take an iron-willed player, one who simply refuses to surrender.
