Seahawks vs. Cardinals: Seattle completes sweep of Arizona with 31-21 road win

The Seattle Seahawks (6-3) have swept the Arizona Cardinals (3-6) and extended their lead in the NFC West.

It was not an easy afternoon at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, but the Seahawks showed their mettle and turned a 14-10 3rd quarter deficit into a 31-21 victory that improved their winning streak to four. Geno Smith bounced back from a pick-6 that gave the Cardinals the lead by engineering three straight touchdown drives, two of which were finished off by rookie sensation Kenneth Walker III.

Smith threw touchdown passes to Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, while Walker overcame a slow start to rush for over 100 yards for the second time in three weeks. The defense held Kyler Murray to just 175 yards passing on 35 attempts, sacking him five times and forcing a crucial fumble prior to halftime that prevented them from potentially scoring.

The defense played very well and the offense went scorched Earth in the closing stages of a game that Arizona badly needed to win, only for Pete Carroll’s Seahawks to slam the door in their faces in their own building. Again.

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1st Quarter

Geno Smith hit his first three passes to Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, and Noah Fant. The running game struggled to get going and on 3rd and 6, Dee Eskridge couldn’t catch what would’ve been a very short pass that wouldn’t have moved the chains. The throw was a little behind him but Jalen Thompson helped break up the throw. Jason Myers converted the game’s first points from 48. 3-0 Seahawks.

Arizona was on the cusp of an early three-and-out before Kyler Murray escaped a sack and rushed for 21 yards. Then in the face of pressure again he found a wide open DeAndre Hopkins for a walk-in 23-yard touchdown. The Cardinals’ first 1st quarter TD of the entire season. 7-3 Cardinals.

Seattle went three-and-out, but so did Arizona after backup center Billy Price turned 3rd and 1 into a horrific high snap and a loss of 15 yards. Kyler already had to make a difficult catch on the game’s first play but this one was well over his head and led to a punt.

2nd Quarter

The Seahawks embarked on a 12-play, 79-yard drive that saw Noah Fant catch two passes for first downs, including a clutch 3rd down grab with the pocket collapsing around Geno Smith. Byron Murphy nearly picked off Smith on 2nd and goal on a pass intended for Metcalf, and that missed opportunity resulted in Geno going back to DK for the score. Metcalf kept his feet inbounds for his fourth TD on the season. 10-7 Seahawks.

Coby Bryant thought he had his first career interception, but he probably thought so in the Los Angeles Chargers game, too. For the second time in three weeks he had a pick wiped out due to penalty, a Quandre Diggs committed an illegal contact penalty. No worries as Arizona punted anyway, and a penalty tacked on to a good punt return by DeeJay Dallas set up the Seahawks in Cardinals territory. Then a worry when they wasted that series with a turnover on downs following a 3rd and 4 sweep pass to Travis Homer for 2 yards, followed by a shovel to Colby Parkinson to lose yards.

Arizona promptly stalled out and punted after three plays, with Quandre Diggs and Tariq Woolen both breaking up Murray passes. If you like punting you liked this game. Tyler Lockett had a 3rd and 15 first down and uh... he slid too early. That’s annoying when you consider Eno Benjamin converted a 3rd and 14 catch-and-run on the ensuing possession that put the Cards in Seattle territory approaching halftime. Arizona was backed up at their own 3 to start their drive, and had a chance for points before the break. Robbie Anderson dropped an easy one on 3rd and 4, so the Cardinals opted to go for it instead of kick a field goal. Murray scrambled for a first down and more, only for Ryan Neal to come through and force the fumble! Josh Jones with the recovery and Arizona ends up with no points.

3rd Quarter

Arizona could’ve had points before halftime and points right out of halftime and instead got zero. The first possession of the 2nd half was a quick three-and-out, which the Seahawks answered with their own three-and-out. Geno Smith was sacked on 2nd and 2 and then 3rd and 9; neither QB was sacked in the first half.

It looked as if the Cardinals converted 3rd and 17 with a double pass from Kyler Murray to Greg Dortch, then Dortch to James Conner, but it was a double forward pass which is not legal. Loss of down and a punt after that trickeration didn’t work out in a legal fashion.

The Cardinals took the lead on a Geno Smith pick-6 thrown on an attempted screen to Kenneth Walker III. 14-10 Cardinals.

How would Geno and company respond? Well Will Dissly finally got involved and caught a couple of passes for the first time all game. A 3rd and 12 throw to Tyler Lockett saw Lockett make the catch for the first and then get drilled by Zaven Collins for an extra 15 yards. Dissly caught another pass to move the chains and Kenneth Walker converted a 3rd and 1 to get Seattle to the Arizona 12. Smith nearly got picked on a throw to Will Dissly, and like the Metcalf TD in the 2nd quarter, Geno made Arizona pay with a touchdown pass on the following play. Tyler Lockett pushed Budda Baker the hell off but the refs didn’t flag it, so we won’t complain. 17-14 Seahawks.

4th Quarter

After no sacks for either team in the 1st half, the pressure started to get turned up. Bruce Irvin and Shelby Harris both got to Kyler Murray, with the Harris sack resulting in a punt. The ball nearly went right back to Arizona when DeeJay Dallas muffed a fair catch, but he was able to recover the ball. Kenneth Walker III started to get going after being bottled up, and the Seahawks advanced the ball to near midfield. Geno Smith then ripped off consecutive runs for a combined 29 yards! Kenneth Walker III took over and converted a 3rd and 2, then easily got through at the goal line for a TD. 24-14 Seahawks with 7:32 to go.

Faced with a must-score situation, Arizona embarked on a 14-play, 75-yard drive that almost ended early when Rondale Moore looked to have fumbled after catching a short pass. Officials overturned it to an incomplete pass, as he didn’t complete a full football move after taking two steps. The Cardinals marched down the field and got a touchdown throw from Murray to Zach Ertz. 24-21 Seahawks with 3:32 left.

Needing to kill clock, the Seahawks turned to Noah Fant for a 51-yard catch and dash down the sidelines and into Arizona territory. The best part? He stayed in bound. JJ Watt jumped offsides to give the Seahawks a new set of downs, and the Cardinals had to start burning timeouts. Kenneth Walker gashed the Cardinals defense to the 5-yard line, forcing Arizona to use its last TO. The next snap was a Walker TD to ice the game. 31-21 Seahawks with 2:09 left.

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Scoring Summary

1st Quarter: Jason Myers 48-yard field goal - SEA 3, AZ 0

1st Quarter: DeAndre Hopkins 23-yard touchdown pass from Kyler Murray - SEA 3, AZ 7

2nd Quarter: DK Metcalf 4-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith - SEA 10, AZ 7

3rd Quarter: Zaven Collins 30-yard interception return - SEA 10, AZ 14

3rd Quarter: Tyler Lockett 9-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith - SEA 17, AZ 14

4th Quarter: Kenneth Walker III 1-yard touchdown rush - SEA 24, AZ 14

4th Quarter: Zach Ertz 6-yard touchdown pass from Kyler Murray - SEA 24, AZ 21

4th Quarter: Kenneth Walker III 5-yard touchdown rush - SEA 31, AZ 21

Boxscore

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Seahawks Injury Report

LB Cullen Gillaspia left the game with a knee injury on a 3rd quarter punt and did not return.

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Next Week’s Opponent

The Seahawks go overseas for what’s officially a road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. It’s the first ever NFL regular season game in Germany and will kickoff at 6:30 AM PT on NFL Network on Sunday, November 13th. Rise and shine!