To a man, the Seattle Seahawks said securing a victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars was critical to keep the team’s playoff hopes alive.

In front of another sellout crowd at Qwest Field, the Seahawks played like it Sunday.

Buoyed by the return of their offensive leader, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, from a rib injury suffered at San Francisco three weeks ago, the Seahawks competed with a renewed sense of urgency in hammering the visiting Jaguars, 41-0.

Seattle stopped its losing streak at three, ended Jacksonville’s winning streak at two, and served notice that the Seahawks are still a team to be reckoned with in the NFC West.

And with the 49ers losing big at home against Atlanta, the Seahawks find themselves a game back from the NFC West division leaders, with the defending NFC West champion Arizona Cardinals headed to Qwest Field on Sunday.

Coach Jim Mora was pleased with the way his team played in what could serve as a potential turning point for the Seahawks.

However, Mora said the victory won’t mean as much if Seattle doesn’t go out and finish things off by holding serve against Arizona next week, allowing his team to go into the bye week at 3-3.

“It only changes if you validate it,” Mora said. “So our job is to go out and validate this thing. And that’s what we’ve got to set our minds to doing.”

Mora’s defense recorded a shutout for the second time in five games.

It’s the first time Seattle notched two shutouts in one season since 1986 when the Seahawks blanked Pittsburgh to open the season, 30-0, then shut out the Los Angles Raiders 13 games later, 37-0.

What a difference a week makes.

The Seahawks looked lethargic and lifeless in suffering a 34-17 pounding in Indianapolis on Oct. 3.

Fast forward a week with Hasselbeck back in the fold, and Seattle’s sputtering offense finally came to life.

In particular, Seattle’s $40 million offseason acquisition, receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, had his biggest day as a Seahawk. He finished with five catches for 77 yards and two scores, his first touchdowns as a Seahawk.

Seattle’s offense struggled early but got on track in the second quarter.

After settling for two Olindo Mare field goals in the first quarter, Hasselbeck helped create two big plays for Seattle’s offense to break the game open.

The first came on a first-and-10 play from Jacksonville’s 34-yard line with 4 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the half, with Hasselbeck hitting Houshmandzadeh in stride on a slant-and-go route for a 34-yard score.

After Jacksonville went three and out, the Seahawks got the ball back, and three plays later, Hasselbeck connected with Nate Burleson on a deep in-route. Burleson broke two tackles on the way to a 44-yard touchdown, giving Seattle a 20-0 lead, and the route was on.

Houshmandzadeh and Burleson would both score another touchdown in the second half. Burleson finished with a game-high six catches for 98 yards.

Hasselbeck finished 18-for-30 passing for 241 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, compiling a 125.1 passer rating in a little over three quarters of work, giving way to backup Seneca Wallace with the game in hand.

“The enthusiasm, the confidence that he showed made a huge impact on our team today,” Mora said. “I think that signifies the importance of starting quarterbacks in the National Football League right there.”

And as good as Seattle’s offense played, the defense was just as impressive, constantly harassing Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard and totaling five sacks.

After heading into the game with three turnovers, the defense finally created some big plays, with linebacker Aaron Curry forcing another fumble that defensive lineman Cory Redding caught in midair and rumbling downfield on his way toward scoring a touchdown before deciding to turn back and hit Garrard.

“All the guys told me, ‘If you would’ve hit the sideline, you would’ve gotten a touchdown,’ ” Redding said. “I’m not used to carrying the ball, so I was just happy to get it.

“And when I saw the quarterback, I said, ‘Oh, let me hit him.’ ”

The Seahawks contained talented running back Maurice Jones-Drew to 34 yards rushing, held the Jaguars to 2-for-13 on third-down conversions, and allowed 199 net yards.

“When you stop the run and you get a lead, then you can kind of turn them loose a little bit,” Mora said of the defense. “You can pin your ears back and you can go after the quarterback. And that’s the situation we found ourselves in today and we took advantage of that.”

Seattle punctuated the win early in the fourth quarter. With Jacksonville driving for a potential score, defensive end Lawrence Jackson forced a Garrard fumble. Rookie defensive end Nick Reed picked up the loose ball and raced 79 yards for his first touchdown as a pro, giving Seattle a 41-0 lead with just over 14 minutes left.

Seattle milked the clock the rest of the way, holding the ball for the last 11:53 of the game on its final drive.

Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437

eric.williams@thenewstribune.com

blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks