Getting breaks: Broken bones don't stop Seattle

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks are alone in first place in the division they dominated for so long. Arizona, the team that dethroned them to win the NFC West the last two seasons, is in tatters.

Matt Hasselbeck dissected the Cardinals' defense for 273 of his 333 yards passing in the first half, went down with a cracked bone in his left wrist, then came back to finish off a 36-18 victory on Sunday.

Hasselbeck, out with a concussion the previous week, had a cast on his wrist after the game, resting it on the podium as he talked to reporters.

"I texted my wife and said, 'Hey, I hurt my wrist,'" Hasselbeck said. "She wrote back and said, 'Good, I thought it was your head.' I was like, 'Good? Really? Good?' Hopefully it will be OK."

Coach Pete Carroll, who has the Seahawks (5-4) with a winning record in his first season, expressed optimism Hasselbeck would be able to play next Sunday against New Orleans.

"He's got a little crack on his left wrist but it's one that looks to be manageable," Carroll said. "Obviously, he went out and played. They X-rayed it and all that and splinted him up and he was OK about playing and he did a marvelous job with it."

Mike Williams had his best day yet in his return from two seasons out of the NFL, catching 11 passes for a career-high 145 yards. The 11 catches tied his career best, set earlier this year against Arizona.

He fractured his pinkie in practice on Thursday but said "it wasn't that big of a deal."

Carroll seemed to think otherwise.

"Mike played a beautiful game today," he said. "If you can imagine a couple of days ago Mike's bone was sticking out of his finger and a couple of days later he's playing and starting in the game. It was really a huge statement about his toughness and all."

Among Williams' catches was a one-handed grab with his ailing right hand.

"It was one of those plays where the ball is kind of out of reach and you just make an attempt at it," he said. "Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."

When the Seahawks beat Arizona 22-10 in Seattle three games ago, Williams caught 11 passes for 87 yards.

Outscored 74-10 by Oakland and the New York Giants the previous two weeks, Seattle was comfortable to be back in its division, which has been subject to ridicule much of the season. The Seahawks swept the Cardinals for the first time since 2005.

Arizona (3-6) lost its fourth straight, its longest skid since dropping eight in a row in 2006, Dennis Green's final season as coach. The Cardinals have fallen into a last-place tie with San Francisco.

"Just so many mistakes out there," coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "It's too hard to talk about them all. Obviously it's tough. These are tough times for us."

On several occasions, boos echoed through the building.

The Seahawks could have made this win far more one-sided. Seattle had to settle for four of Olindo Mare's five field goals when second-half drives stalled at the 16-yard line or closer. Two of them ended at the 1.

Arizona's Derek Anderson completed 23 of 45 passes for 322 yards. He was intercepted once, fumbled the ball away once and was sacked five times, two apiece by Aaron Curry and Chris Clemens.

Hasselbeck repeatedly threw with success toward cornerback Greg Toler and safety Adrian Wilson, often defending against Williams. Eventually, Toler was benched in favor of Michael Adams.

After the game, Toler and Wilson sat silently at their lockers, not turning to face reporters.

The game plan, Williams acknowledged, was to stay away from cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

"He is so instinctive and fast," Williams said. "We kind of worked our way away from him while we took advantage of the guy on the other side."

Whisenhunt called Arizona's first-half defense "very poor."

"We lost a lot of one-on-one battles," he said. "We didn't tackle well. We didn't do very much well in the first half. ... I don't think we did a whole lot well the whole day, to be honest with you."

Arizona kick returner and running back LaRod Stephens-Howling injured a hamstring in the first half and running back Jason Wright went down with a head injury. That left the team, already without Beanie Wells, down to one running back, Tim Hightower.

Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett was out with a shoulder injury, ending his streak of 104 consecutive games played, second-longest (behind Justin Smith of the 49ers' 151) among active defensive tackles.

Wells missed his third game of the season because of his ailing right knee.

Seattle first-round draft pick Russell Okung missed his third straight game at left tackle because of a high ankle sprain. He has missed six games this season.