Even after an 11-year career in which he has played more than 140 NFL games, Matt Hasselbeck hasn’t stopped learning.

The Seattle Seahawks’ 32-20 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Qwest Field offered a prime example.

It’s difficult to imagine a worse start for Hasselbeck and the Seahawks.

On Seattle’s first offensive play, Hasselbeck dropped back, looked to his left and fired a bullet of a pass – directly into the hands of Lions free safety Louis Delmas, who returned it 29 yards to the Seattle 2. That set up an eventual Matthew Stafford touchdown pass to Brandon Pettigrew.

“I was a little bit confused on how they were lined up,” Hasselbeck said. “I think they might have had just 10 guys on the field. But really there is no excuse. It’s a tough way to start.”

Worse, Hasselbeck, fueled by irritation at his mistake and a desire to atone, hustled over to try to tackle Delmas.

“It’s the perfect time to make the tackle because you’re so angry,” he said.

Yes, but anger can cloud judgment. In his haste, an already banged up Hasselbeck took a painful shot to his right shoulder.

“I banged my shoulder a little, so I wasn’t feeling that good right away,” Hasselbeck said.

Maybe it turned out to be a good thing. Because he didn’t feel good, Hasselbeck had to rethink his approach.

“I wasn’t taking chances,” he said. “I was just taking what the defense gave me. I was playing pretty conservative, and then it started feeling better again.”

Conservative or not, Hasselbeck completed his next 15 passes. Even when the pain went away, Hasselbeck’s approach didn’t change. He continued to find big gains in low-risk plays.

“There’s probably a lesson there – just take what the defense gives you,” he said. “Don’t force it.”

In this case, the lesson led to a victory.

With a running game that could best be described as ineffective and an early 17-0 deficit, coach Jim Mora told offensive coordinator Greg Knapp to scrap the plan of balancing the attack.

“I told Greg that our best bet to move the ball is to put it in Matt’s hands, and let him make plays for us, and let him make decisions,” Mora said.

Knapp relayed the message to Hasselbeck.

“It stinks that we had to put ourselves in that situation because that really wasn’t the game plan,” Hasselbeck said. “The plan was to be balanced, and we shot ourselves in the foot early in the game.”

The improvised attack was effective in record-setting ways.

Hasselbeck passed for 329 yards on 39-of-51 accuracy, including a 2-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, to lead the rally.

The 39 completions broke Hasselbeck’s own franchise record of 36 in one game (see chart). His 12th completion was Hasselbeck’s 2,096th for Seattle, surpassing the franchise record for career completions held by Dave Krieg.

He reached the 300-yard passing plateau in a game for the first time since Nov. 18, 2007, against the Bears. None of that mattered much to him.

“I really didn’t feel like I played my best,” he said. “I feel like there were a lot of opportunities that I missed, but again there will be a lesson that will come from this.”

Maybe there will be lessons learned all around, particularly for Mora and Knapp, who adamantly want to run the football.

“We’re not going to be stubborn about the run,” Mora said. “Certainly we want to be able to run the football. I think in order to have sustained success in this league, you have to run the football. But we’re not going to run the football just to prove a point. If there is another way to try to win, then that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483

ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com