Seahawks vs. Chargers: Charlie Whitehurst or Tarvaris Jackson for Seattle's QB?

The Seattle Seahawks (1-0) broke the 17-17 deadlock with a 25-yard touchdown run by Thomas Clayton in the fourth quarter of their seven-point win over the San Diego Chargers (0-1) on Thursday night in a preseason matchup at Qualcomm Stadium.

Starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who was signed by the Seahawks this offseason to replace veteran Matt Hasselbeck, had an underwhelming debut for Seattle.

Jackson played two drives for the Seahawks and both ended in Seattle punts, as Jackson finished 3-5 for 13 yards and had 12 more yards on two rushing attempts.

Second string quarterback Charlie Whitehurst came in at the start of the second quarter to relieve Jackson and performed admirably, going 14-20 for 115 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Whitehurst led five Seattle drives in all, including two in the third quarter.

The veteran backup and former Charger's quarterback led the Seahawks on two scoring drives before leaving the game late in the third quarter: a touchdown and a field goal in the third quarter that tied the game at 10-10.

Rookie quarterback Josh Portis entered for Whitehurst and led Seattle on two late-game scoring drives to win the game.

Neither Whitehurst nor Jackson did enough to earn or lose the starting quarterback job Thursday night in San Diego, but we still learned some things about the Seahawks situation under center.

We know that the Seahawks coaching staff still hasn't seen enough from Whitehurst this preseason to suggest he is any better than his 65.5 quarterback rating in 2010 would have you believe.

Jackson was hardly much better in Minnesota, but did semi-lead the Vikings to the playoffs in 2008, with much of the credit going to running back Adrian Peterson, and rightfully so.

With rookie Josh Portis posing no threat to the No. 1 quarterback spot, Jackson seems to be the favorite by default.

The better question than who will be the guy in Seattle, is why are Pete Carroll and the Seahawks so content to head into the post Hasselbeck-era with Tarvaris Jackson.

They passed on two second-round picks in Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick with the no. 25 pick, instead adding to the offensive line.

One has to wonder how bright 2011 can be for the Seahawks even if Jackson has his old offensive coordinator calling the shots and Sidney Rice to throw to.

Jackson or Whitehurst, can I take neither?

Patrick Clarke is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow on Twitter @_Pat_Clarke