KIRKLAND, Wash. -- Even when the Seattle Seahawks had a three-game lead in the AFC West, coach Mike Holmgren was worried because he felt the division race was going to go down to the wire.

	Willie Williams, left, and the Seahawks watched the Raiders celebrate Sunday in Oakland.

Turns out he had reason for concern.

After consecutive losses for the first time in his short tenure, Holmgren's success or failure in his first season in Seattle will be decided in the next four weeks.

The Seahawks, who have an 8-4 record after their loss in Oakland on Sunday, still lead the AFC West, but that lead is down to one game.

"When we were 8-2, it was a pretty good feeling around here, and that was OK because they already had accomplished something," Holmgren said. "I tried to squelch a little of the enthusiasm."

The Seahawks will play three AFC West opponents in their final four games, beginning with San Diego on Sunday in the Kingdome. They play second-place Kansas City the day after Christmas at home and have road games against Denver and the New York Jets.

"It's a four-game season," Holmgren said.

A day after the Seahawks' 30-21 loss to the Raiders, Holmgren was angry, and he was particularly upset by the performance of his defensive front. He let the media as well as his players know about his feelings.

"I thought their front handled our front," he said. "That's as dominating a job against our front as I hope I ever see in my lifetime. They're getting paid a lot of money to play, and they were stealing yesterday."

The Seahawks didn't play like a team with a purpose in Oakland although they're attempting to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 1988.

Jon Kitna threw two more interceptions, giving him seven in two games, and Ricky Watters picked the wrong game to lose his first two fumbles of the season.

But it was Seattle defensive linemen Cortez Kennedy, Michael Sinclair and Phillip Daniels who drew Holmgren's wrath after quarterback Rich Gannon played a game without getting sacked although he had a strained thigh muscle.

The Raiders rolled up more yards (415) than any other team against the Seahawks this season, while Seattle surrendered its most points in a game this season. And Oakland's Leo Araguz didn't punt.

"Anytime the other team does not punt, you have a severe problem," Holmgren said.

Holmgren would not criticize Riddick Parker, who started in his third consecutive game in place of Sam Adams, who is sidelined with a sprained knee.

"Riddick Parker played about as well as anybody," Holmgren said. "So I'm not talking about him."

Holmgren said he had a long discussion with his players at the Seahawks headquarters Monday and let his defensive front four know what was on his mind.

"I'm sure I said things today that offended somebody on the team," he said. "But I have to be who I am, and they're learning about me."

The Seahawks defense ranks 22nd in the league this week.

"I said right from the beginning that the defense, I felt, was one of our strengths at the beginning of the season and had to carry us," he said.

In losses to Tampa Bay and the Raiders in the last two weeks, the Seahawks have turned the ball over 10 times, while getting one takeaway.

Holmgren said he expected Seattle's defense to pick up the team when there is a turnover.

"You're tired, you come off the field, you've had a good defensive series," he said. "OK, the punt returner fumbles the punt, and you've got to run back out there. How do you react to that? You say, 'Doggone punt return guy. I'm supposed to be getting water, and now I have to go back on the field.' Well, if you do that, go play for somebody else. Don't be here."

Despite the setbacks after a five-game winning streak, Holmgren found some reason for optimism.

"We're still in first place, and the bottom hasn't fallen out," he said. "Let's not forget that."