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SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Joey Galloway's wallet may be considerably lighter after his eight-week holdout but the talented wide receiver showed just how much of an impact player he can be. Galloway made two crucial second-half catches in his first appearance of the season, helping the Seattle Seahawks rally for a 20-17 victory over the Denver Broncos in a battle of Super Bowl XXXII coaches. The Seahawks (7-2) posted their fourth straight victory, matched their best start since 1984 and moved two games ahead of Kansas City and Oakland in the AFC West. "It's been a long week from the standpoint of trying to learn the plays," Galloway said. "I had to learn the West Coast offense in about four days." After Seattle surrendered 17 points in the third quarter and fell behind 17-10, Galloway hauled in a 39-yard reception that set up Todd Peterson's 43-yard field goal. On the Seahawks' next possession, his 28-yard reception gave Seattle a first down at the Denver 20. Two plays later, Jon Kitna tossed a 20-yard TD pass to Sean Dawkins for a 20-17 lead with 7:19 remaining. Kitna completed 16-of-31 passes for 235 yards with an interception and was 4-of-4 for 80 yards on the winning drive. "What a way to come back for (Galloway)," Kitna said. "The two catches he made, you would say those are two catches a guy wouldn't make in his first game back. He didn't look like he missed a beat." "With three or four of us (receivers) out there, we're a constant headache for opposing teams and we'll find a mismatch somewhere," Dawkins added. "With his (Galloway's) speed and deep threat capabilities, he definitely helps the team out." Galloway, who lost half of his $1.6 million salary during the holdout and incurred more than $200,000 in fines, finished with four receptions for 88 yards. "It felt good to be back," he said. "I was excited to be in the dome again. It has been a long time. It feels good to beat Denver." "He made a bunch of big plays," Denver coach Mike Shanahan added. "It's really a credit to him to come into this stadium with only a few days of preparation and make the plays that he did. He did an excellent job." Galloway was nearly upstaged by Denver's Chris Miller, who threw two touchdowns and completed 14 straight passes at one point in the second half, tossed a 42-yard strike to Ed McCaffrey that gave Denver a first down at the Seahawks 42 with 10 seconds remaining. But the Broncos were out of timeouts and time expired before Miller could get to the line to spike the ball. "They turned me loose a little bit and gave us room to throw," Miller said. "We had a hard time gettting a rhythm in the first half." In January 1998, Shanahan's Broncos (3-7) posted a 31-24 victory over Mike Holmgren's Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII for the first of their two straight championships. Today, Holmgren earned a win over Shanahan in his first year as Seahawks coach. "This is the first time since I've been here that we beat (Denver)," Kitna said. "It's a great feeling. In this league you enjoy it for about a half a day and then you have to get ready for the next one." While Denver's hopes for a third straight championship were virtually eliminated today, Holmgren has visions of leading the Seahawks to the Super Bowl. Barring a collapse, Seattle is in position to make the playoffs for the first time since 1988 and end the NFL's longest current postseason drought. The Broncos did not quietly, however, as Miller tossed a 23-yard TD pass to McCaffrey and a one-yard scoring strike to fullback Howard Griffith in the third. Miller, getting another start with Brian Griese nursing a sore shoulder, completed 20-of-30 passes for 239 yards with an interception. "I never doubted for one second that they would come in here and play," Holmgren said. "Shanahan has done a nice job of rallying those guys and that doesn't surprise me. They are a championship group." Holmgren thought Kitna got too caught up in trying to throw to Galloway. "A couple times that worked against us," the coach said. "That's a natural instinct that he wants to throw him the ball. Down the road when Joey's got his legs under him and he understands most of what we're doing, that will make a little more sense than it did tonight." The Seahawks struggled to move the ball for three quarters but grabbed a 10-0 halftime lead on Pederson's 36-yard field goal in the first and Kitna's 10-yard TD pass to Derrick Mayes 2:08 into the second. Denver missed a chance to get on the board late in the as defensive back Kerry Joseph picked off Miller at the Seahawks 11 with 1:46 remaining. It was Seattle's league-leading 20th interception of the season. But the Seahawks nearly self-destructed in the third, thanks to a pair of costly turnovers. The Broncos got a huge break when backup running back Anthony Lynn recovered Ahman Green's fumble on the second-half kickoff and pulled within 10-3 on Jason Elam's 25-yard field goal. On Seattle's next possession, defensive back Tony James intercepted Kitna, setting up Miller's game-tying 23-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey. The Broncos grabbed a 17-10 lead on Miller's one-yard TD toss to Griffith with 50 seconds left in the period. After Dawkins' touchdown put the Seahawks up 20-17, Denver picked up two first downs on the ensuing possession but its hopes ended when Miller's pass to tight end Byron Chamberlain fell incomplete on 4th-and-10 from the Seahawks 47 with 2:40 remaining. The Broncos got back the ball at their 20 with only 21 seconds remaining and had time for only one play. The defeat ended Denver's remarkable 15-game winning streak when taking a lead into the fourth quarter on the road.
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