The Seahawks have come alive in the second half of the season, going 2-0 with a shut out win over the San Francisco 49ers and a strong 30-23 victory over the Chicago Bears at home, avenging their NFC championship loss. With these two wins the Seahawks improved to 6-4 and maintained a one-game lead in the NFC West over the Arizona Cardinals and looked good doing it.

The Hawks’ defense has really stepped up. After the first two drives of Sunday’s game, they looked like a Super Bowl-caliber defense. After those drives they did a good job of stopping the run and put good pressure on Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, sacking him five times in the second half.

They also forced two fumbles, one of which they recovered.

The offense has looked sharp in both games, but especially good against the Chicago Bears, whose defense dominated the Seahawks last year. Matt Hasselbeck threw for 337 yards and two touchdowns. D.J. Hackett had his best game of the season, catching nine passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. Fan favorite Bobby Engram came through again, catching eight passes for 84 yards, several of which were for clutch third down conversions.

Coach Mike Holmgren finally incorporated his creative play calling to include short yardage situations. Instead of the standard run off tackle, Holmgren called more play action bootlegs to great effect. The Seahawks’ successes on these plays kept the Bears’ defense off balance most of the game.

Filling in for injured running back Shawn Alexander, Maurice Morris ran over a Bear defense that prides itself on stopping the run. He ran for 87 yards and a touchdown averaging 4.8 yards per carry. His quick, hard running style is a good fit for the Seahawk’s pass-first offense.

But where does this leave Shaun Alexander?

For the second week in a row with Alexander nursing an injury on the bench, the Seahawks have played excellent football and won. Will Holmgren put Alexander back in when he heals and risk ruining the Seahawk’s momentum or will he continue with Morris as the team continues to win?

Everyone at Qwest can agree that over the last two weeks the Seahawks looked like a Super Bowl-caliber team. They are playing the best football they’ve played all season. The offense and defense are firing on all cylinders, and Nate Burleson has the potential to break open games with special teams.

The Seahawks are in a good position to improve on their 6-4 record and to make a postseason run if they continue to play well.

They end their season by playing the St. Louis Rams (2-8), Philadelphia Eagles (5-5), Arizona Cardinals (5-5), Carolina Panthers (4-6), Baltimore Ravens (4-6) and the Atlanta Falcons (3-7).

None of these teams have a winning record; The Seahawks have the talent to beat all of them. If they do, the Hawks will end the season 12-4, guaranteeing them playoff games at Qwest Field ,where the 12th man gives them a huge home field advantage.

[Reach reporter Zach Ruby at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.]