NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 20 -- Rick Mirer passed for 137 yards and a touchdown Sunday afternoon to lead the Seattle Seahawks to a 24-19 victory over the winless New Orleans Saints. Mirer's 56-yard scoring strike to rookie Joey Galloway with two seconds left in the second quarter put Seattle ahead to stay, 17-13.
Mirer was 6-for-12. Lamar Smith scored on a 10-yard run late in the fourth quarter to build the lead to 24-13 before New Orleans' Tom Hodson connected with Adam Henry for a 26-yard touchdown that closed the scoring. New Orleans starter Jim Everett completed 9-of-17 passes for 88 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown to Irv Smith. Backup Hodson was 8- for-14 for 130 yards and Mario Bates carried 11 times for 73 yards. Saints kickers Chip Lohmiller and Cary Blanchard were 0-for-3 in field-goal attempts Both are competing for the starting job which became open when long-time kicker Morten Andersen was released and signed as a free agent with Atlanta. The Seahawks improved to 3-1 in the preseason, while New Orleans fell to 0-4.
