The career-defining moments were there for Matt Hasselbeck in loud, windy, crazy Soldier Field.
The kind of postseason plays that become the indelible snapshots of a life in the game. The plays that are the difference between being good and being great. The Joe Montana-to-Dwight Clark moments.
Against the Chicago Bears, the questions about Hasselbeck were there to be answered.
Could he do what superstar quarterbacks to? Could he drive the Seahawks, in a hostile environment, like John Elway once did in Cleveland?
But with the crowd baring its teeth, with the life of this season on his side of the ball, with a return trip to the NFC title game within his grasp, Hasselbeck couldn’t will his team to a win.
He made bad mistakes. Threw an inexcusable interception. Didn’t see open receivers. Took a sack he shouldn’t have taken. And couldn’t generate a drive at a time and place he and his team needed it the most.
In a very good eight-year career, Hasselbeck’s most definitive moments have been his mistakes–the interception that Green Bay’s Al Harris returned for touchdown in the playoffs four seasons ago and his lukewarm performance in the Super Bowl loss last year to Pittsburgh.
Against the Bears, when the Seahawks needed him to be great, Hasselbeck was average. He was Vinny Testaverde, not Joe Montana. He was Steve DeBerg, not Bart Starr. He was Jim Harbaugh, not Terry Bradshaw.
“I would assess this game as very frustrating,” quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn said. “We had our chances to win and didn’t put it together to do that. I know Matt is very disappointed, as well as every one of his teammates. I’m sure he’s absolutely down.”
Early in the fourth quarter, after nickel back Pete Hunter intercepted a pass and made all of us think maybe Mack Strong was right calling the Seahawks a team of destiny, Hasselbeck gave the ball back to the Bears.
With a three-point lead and all the momentum this playoff game could generate, Hasselbeck tried to force a ball to Bobby Engram that was picked by Ricky Manning Jr., his third interception of Hasselbeck this season.
“A really, really bad play by me,” Hasselbeck said. “I should have thrown the ball out of bounds. I should have thrown it into the third row.”
The explanation was better than the execution.
Great quarterbacks, especially great January quarterbacks, don’t make that throw. They don’t feel the need to make a great play on every down. Great quarterbacks play with an understated cool.
Hasselbeck didn’t make just one bad play in the game’s final five possessions. He made four. A quartet of killers.
After all that has happened to the Seahawks this season–the injuries to the offensive line and secondary, the three-game December losing streak, Alexander’s broken foot and Hasselbeck’s twisted knee–it was expecting too much of this team to believe it could get back to the Super Bowl.
It never put together four consecutive good quarters, let alone four consecutive good games.
Still, the Seahawks had chances to win this game and march to New Orleans for another NFC championship game.
But they needed Hasselbeck at his best.
And he wasn’t even close.
At winning time, in the fourth quarter and overtime, Hasselbeck was 4-for-10 for 38 yards and one interception.
“The thing I always appreciate about Matt is he’s always tried to play hard and he’s always tried to play smart and tried to do everything that has been asked of him,” Zorn said. “And he’s still doing that.”
But after another hard, postseason loss, Hasselbeck’s good career still is looking for greatness.
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Steve Kelley is a sports columnist for the Seattle Times.
