SEATTLE, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Stephen Davis rushed for a season-best 142 yards and a touchdown Sunday as the rejuvenated Washington Redskins posted their third straight victory, 27-14 over the Seattle Seahawks.
Davis, who entered the game second in the NFC with 524 rushing yards, recorded his second straight 100-yard performance and the 13th of his career. His one-yard plunge capped a 13-play, 69-yard drive and gave the Redskins a 20-7 lead with 5:29 remaining in the second quarter.
It was also the first rushing touchdown of the season for the Redskins (3-5). Their last rushing touchdown had come last Dec. 24 by Champ Bailey.
"All week people have been saying that Champ Bailey was the last guy to rush for a touchdown and my main goal was to go out and get a touchdown and put some points on the board," Davis said. "The last three weeks we have run the ball and have had guys make big plays."
Washington's Tony Banks had another efficient game, completing 15 of 23 passes for 127 yards. He threw two touchdowns and was intercepted once.
The Redskins were ranked last in the NFL in red zone efficiency, but scored three touchdowns in four tries inside the 20-yard line.
Matt Hasselbeck made his second straight start for Seattle (3-4) and was eight of 18 for 127 yards with two interceptions before being replaced by Trent Dilfer in the third quarter.
"Our emotions weren't what they have been the last few weeks," said Seattle coach Mike Holmgren. "We didn't play a very good football game and it's too bad. Matt was making some mistakes in his decisions and things like that. I don't want to really go too much into the real specifics of the quarterback and what he does on every play. Just trust me, I told you that I would know if he wasn't playing up to the standards that I wanted him to."
Hasselbeck had completions of 13 and 20 yards to rookie Alex Bannister and James Williams as Seattle drove to the Washington five with 65 seconds left in the second quarter. But Hasselbeck fumbled on first down after being sacked by defensive end Marco Coleman and linebacker LaVar Arrington recovered the ball on the 14, allowing the Redskins to run out the clock and take a 20-7 lead into the locker room.
"He brought me in at halftime and said `You're not doing things my way, you're still trying to do things your way. You should be playing, but until you're ready to do things my way, you're not going to be playing,'" said Hasselbeck about his conversation with Holmgren.
"We talked about first down in the red zone and throwing the ball away. I was a little gunshy because the play four or five plays earlier was called intentional grounding. I didn't want to have another intentional grounding call and instead I ended up fumbling the ball."
The Redskins added to their lead on their first possession in the second half as Banks scrambled twice for gains of 17 and 15 yards before finding Michael Westbrook in the middle of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown and 27-7 lead with 7:56 left in the third quarter.
"Momentum is a huge thing in this game," Banks said. "Any game on Sunday there's going to be two or three plays that can change the outcome of the game. If you get momentum you've got to take advantage and get points."
Seattle sliced the lead to 27-14 when Dilfer tossed a 46-yard pass to Darrell Jackson with 2:09 left in the third. The Seahawks moved to the Washington 33 with 11:10 left in the fourth, but Dilfer had three straight incompletions.
Washington scored on the first possession of the game as Banks tossed a seven-yard pass to backup tight end Walter Rasby to make it 7-0, 4:34 into the first quarter.
Seattle tied it 3:44 later when Shaun Alexander took a sweep 41 yards up the left sideline and into the end zone. But Alexander, who had rushed for 405 yards in his previous three contests, was limited to 18 yards on his final 10 carries.
Bailey intercepted a pass that Jackson bobbled at the Seattle 30 and four plays later, Brett Conway booted a 43-yard field goal to give the Redskins a 10-7 lead with 1:52 left in the opening quarter.
David Terrell intercepted Hasselebeck at the Seattle 29 with 1 1/2 minutes left in the first and Conway kicked a 23-yard field goal five seconds into the second to make it 13-7.
