SEATTLE - Beware, the Seahawks' stars are well again. And so is a remade, hard-hitting defense. Shaun Alexander, playing pain-free for the first time since he broke his foot 12 months ago, ran for 105 yards and one touchdown Sunday in a 20-6 victory over Tampa Bay.

Seattle Seahawks' Shaun Alexander (37) reacts to his touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007, in Seattle. At right is Seahawks' Bennie Joppru. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Matt Hasselbeck was sharp in his first game following a mediocre season that included two broken fingers.

Hasselbeck went 17-for-24 for 222 yards and threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Maurice Morris to clinch the win. Alexander's backup ran free down the left sideline past Derrick Brooks, the Bucs' defensive leader, to make it 20-6 with 7:55 left.

The Buccaneers, who scored 10 points or less in eight games while sinking to 4-12 last season, fared no better in quarterback Jeff Garcia's first start for them.

Just as Tampa Bay was attempting to rally in the second half from a 10-6 deficit, Garcia and lead running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams left the game on the same drive. Each got hurt following simultaneous hits at the end of runs.

The 37-year-old Garcia, signed after he went 5-1 to revive his career in Philadelphia to end the 2006 regular season, had just scrambled for a first down midway through the third quarter. Julian Peterson hit him low and Leroy Hill hit him across the shoulders. Garcia stayed on one knee for a couple of minutes before trainers helped him off the field and eventually to the locker room.

By the time he returned midway through the fourth quarter after two dead-end drives with Luke McCown, Seattle led 20-6.

The Seahawks appeared headed to a halftime deficit of 6-3 until Nate Burleson cut inside blocks by Kelly Jennings and Niko Koutouvides and ran back a punt to the Bucs 14. Alexander ran 5 yards, then fell across the goal line from 1 yard to give the Seahawks a 10-6 lead at the half.

"Typical first game," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said of the uneven performance — on offense, anyway.

Even without Garcia and Williams, who ran 12 times for 60 yards before he went into the locker room holding his arm after a simultaneous hit by two Seahawks, Tampa Bay trailed just 13-6. But then Morris, not the primary receiver, beat Brooks, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection. And Hasselbeck found him.

Garcia was 12-for-19 for 152 yards before he left with Tampa Bay down 10-6 and 6:48 left in the third quarter.

McCown was 1-for-2 for 9 yards and was sacked twice in his two drives.

When Garcia returned, he moved his team to the Seattle 21 with 4 minutes remaining — aided by a roughing-the-passer penalty on Rocky Bernard. But Earnest Graham fumbled when Lofa Tatupu punched the ball out at the 12. Jennings recovered to clinch the victory.

Early in the third quarter, Tampa Bay had its second long punt return, a 40-yarder by Ike Hilliard, negated by a penalty. Instead of starting at midfield, the Bucs were backed up to their 7, and then lost Williams and Garcia.

Garcia was 7-for-9 in the first quarter, when the Bucs rolled up 136 yards, but got just two field goals by Matt Bryant. A leaping 49-yard catch by Joey Galloway over Jennings, punctuated by Galloway pointing at and taunting his former home crowd, set up Bryant's 38-yarder.

After a holding penalty wiped out Galloway's 37-yard punt return, Garcia threw 28 yards to Hilliard, 17 to Alex Smith and absorbed a roughing-the-passer penalty by Leroy Hill to set up Bryant's 32-yard field goal.

Seattle halved that lead late after Hasselbeck scrambled and found wide receiver Bobby Engram in a mismatch with linebacker Barrett Ruud. The 49-yard catch led to a 28-yard field goal by Josh Brown.