Seattle ? Matt Hasselbeck’s season needs a shot in the arm and the Seattle Seahawks could use their first exhibition victory.

Hasselbeck became the Seahawks’ starting quarterback when Trent Dilfer was lost for four to eight weeks with a sprained right knee.

When the Seahawks (0-2) play the Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) tonight at new Seahawks Stadium, Hasselbeck will be looking for his first touchdown drive.

“We just need to get good play from the quarterback,” Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said.

The Seahawks ended their training camp Wednesday at Eastern Washington University in Cheney. Holmgren is trying to stay positive about Hasselbeck.

“Matt had a great week this week,” Holmgren said. “I hope he carries it into the game.”

Demoted to Dilfer’s backup this season after being Seattle’s starter last year, Hasselbeck got his former job back when Dilfer was injured in Seattle’s exhibition opener, a loss to Indianapolis two weeks ago.

The Seahawks are trying to stay optimistic about Dilfer’s return.

Holmgren said Thursday that he hopes Dilfer can be available for Seattle’s regular-season opener Sept. 8 in Oakland.

“I want him to play,” Holmgren said. “But who knows? That would be an amazing rehab.”

In a 24-14 loss last weekend in San Diego, Hasselbeck went 3-for-6 for 35 yards with one interception and one fumble. His interception led to the Chargers’ first touchdown and he followed that up with a lost fumble on the first snap after the kickoff.

“I’ve been having a lot of coaching this week,” Hasselbeck said. “A lot of attention has been on me because I’m playing. I’ve just tried to use it as an opportunity to get better and I definitely feel I’ve improved this week.”

Holmgren isn’t sure how much he’ll use Hasselbeck this week. He can’t afford to get another quarterback hurt.

“We’re still somewhat vulnerable at the quarterback position until Trent comes back,” Holmgren said. “So I’m not going to do anything that puts Matt at risk.”

Holmgren bought himself a little quarterback insurance on Monday when he signed Mark Rypien, 39, who was the Super Bowl MVP in 1992.

Rypien is expected to play against the Chiefs, too, but not too much.

“He certainly doesn’t have a command of our playbook,” Holmgren said. “We don’t want to be unfair to him. So we are kind of easing him into it right now.”

Holmgren is trying to stay calm in the face of an important season for the Seattle franchise. The Seahawks are trying to fill their new $430 million stadium after missing the playoffs the past two seasons.

“We are going to stick with what we do,” Holmgren said. “If I overreact to a preseason loss, that’s not a very good thing.”

The Chiefs are coming off a 19-9 victory over the expansion Houston Texans in Kansas City last weekend.

Playing into the second quarter, quarterback Trent Green, 32, was 7-for-10 for 73 yards and led Kansas City on a 64-yard scoring drive on its first possession.

The Chiefs will be minus Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez and first-round draft choice Ryan Sims, a defensive tackle and the sixth overall choice from North Carolina. They are unsigned and they will miss their third exhibition games. There is no sign that either of them is close to signing.

The Chiefs feel they need Sims to apply pressure in their defense up the middle to make defensive ends Eric Hicks and Duane Clemons more effective.

The Chiefs will be carefully watching offensive right tackle John Tait, a fourth-year former first-round draft pick out of Brigham Young who has been moved over from left tackle.

“He’s getting better,” coach Dick Vermeil said. “I like him better at right tackle than I liked him at left tackle. He’s starting to feel comfortable.”