Alexander impressive as Seahawks (10-5) roll

The Seattle Seahawks were seeking to regain some fire heading into the playoffs.

Mere plumes of smoke were all that was required to beat the wretched Ravens.

"We have a couple of things to shore up," Matt Hasselbeck said of his Seahawks.

Hasselbeck shook off 2 interceptions to throw 2 touchdown passes and Shaun Alexander had his biggest rushing day since Week 4 as Seattle clinched the NFC's No. 3 seed with a methodical, 27-6 victory over Baltimore Sunday in Seattle.

Hasselbeck's scores gave him a career-high 27 TD throws this season, but he rued his 2 turnovers.

His coach wasn't fully satisfied, either, even though Seattle (10-5) won for fifth time in six games.

"I always want to strive for more," Mike Holmgren said, two days after he reassured the players on his skittish offense he hadn't lost faith in them. "We did take a little bit of a step today, which is encouraging."

Can't say that about the Ravens (4-11). With 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith completing 16 of 33 passes in his first NFL start, they extended their franchise-record losing streak to nine games. It took Smith's 79-yard TD pass to Derrick Mason with 4:41 left for Baltimore to avoid its first shutout since Sept. 15, 2002.

Smith, in because Steve McNair is on injured reserve and Kyle Boller has a concussion, was starting for the first time since he was at Ohio State and lost last January's national championship game to Florida in a rout.

Alexander averaged 42 yards a game in his previous eight games before this romp against the depleted Ravens' defense.

"Today was the best I've felt all year," said Alexander, who had 73 yards on the ground and also caught a 14-yard TD pass.

"If it ever had to come, I'm glad it comes now," Holmgren said of Alexander's return.

Alexander was more pointed.

"You're probably kidding yourself if you think you can win in the playoffs -- especially on the road, which we will have to do -- if you don't run the ball," he said.

Jaguars 49, Raiders 11: Fred Taylor's 62-yard touchdown run on Jacksonville's opening play set the tone for a rout that propelled host Jacksonville into the playoffs.

Taylor finished with 111 yards as the Jaguars (11-4) won for the sixth time in seven games and clinched the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs.

The Raiders (4-11), who took their worst loss of the season, finally turned things over to No. 1 draft pick JaMarcus Russell. Russell was 7 of 23 for 83 yards with a touchdown -- a 2-yard pass to Zach Miller with six seconds remaining -- 3 interceptions and a fumble.

Titans 10, Jets 6: Tennessee is back in control of its chase for its first playoff berth since 2003. Pro Bowler Kyle Vanden Bosch had 3 of Tennessee's 6 sacks and Naperville's Chris Brown ran for a touchdown in a win over visiting New York.

The Titans (9-6) have the edge over Cleveland in tiebreakers if tied for the AFC's final wild-card berth. They still must close out the season with a victory over the defending Super Bowl champs in Indianapolis.

Niners 21, Buccaneers 19: Shaun Hill passed for 3 touchdowns to remain unbeaten as an NFL starter, and Michael Clayton landed out of bounds with his catch on a 2-point conversion attempt with 1:20 left for visiting Tampa Bay (9-6).

Nate Clements' 62-yard interception return set up Frank Gore's TD catch with 14:11 left for the 49ers (5-10), who beat a team with a winning record for the first time this year.

Cardinals 30, Falcons 27 (OT): Neil Rackers kicked a 29-yard field goal to force overtime, then booted one from 31 yards on the first possession of the extra session as host Arizona beat Atlanta. Rackers celebrated by sliding on his knees across the grass. He had missed what would have been a game-winning 32-yarder against San Francisco earlier this season.

Kurt Warner completed 36 of 53 passes for 361 yards and 3 touchdowns, 2 to Anquan Boldin, who caught 13 for 162 yards. Boldin became the fastest to reach 400 career catches in NFL history.