Cardinals Fall Just Short In NFC West Showdown In Seattle

The highly-anticipated Thursday Night Football  showdown between the Cardinals and Seahawks lived up to the hype. In a back and forth battle for first place in the NFC West, the Arizona Cardinals fell just short, stalling on the final drive of the game and dropping a 28-21 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

Seattle’s Carlos Dunlap sacked Kyler Murray on 4th-and-10 with 30 seconds left to seal their victory. 

Murray threw for 269 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Larry Fitzgerald had eight receptions for 62 yards and now has 84 career catches at Lumen Field, the new name of Seattle’s stadium. He has the most receptions in NFL history at a road venue. DeAndre Hopkins was also breaking records, being the youngest player in the NFL to reach 700 receptions, which was previously set by his teammate Fitzgerald. 

Russell Wilson was very efficient, going 23-for-28 for 197 yards and two touchdowns, bouncing back after sputtering the last few weeks. He has yet to lose more than two consecutive games in his career. 

On the Cardinals side, the offense sputtered in the first half, barely achieving over 100 yards. However, the group found its rhythm in the second half and Murray orchestrated two scoring drives that put them in reach going into crunch time of the fourth quarter. 

Ultimately though, the offense couldn’t do enough in the primetime matchup. Murray took a sack early in the first quarter and also was having shoulder issues throughout the game. How much that affected his play is yet to be determined. 

Defensively, a depleted Red Birds defense did all they could, but it wasn’t enough against Wilson, Tyler Lockett, and DK Metcalf. Rookie Isaiah Simmons was the player of the game for Vance Joseph’s defense, as he made nine loud tackles against the Seattle offense, including a few licks on Wilson. 

Penalties were again an issue for Kliff Kingsbury’s group, specifically the offensive line, who committed a number of pre-snap penalties as well as a holding call that contributed to a key Seattle safety while the Cards were backed up facing their own end zone.

With all of the offensive breakthroughs this year, laundry on the field has been a continual problem for the Cardinals, who are one of the most penalized teams in the league. 

This game doesn’t end the Cardinals playoff hopes or chances of winning the division, but it’s definitely a deflating loss. The Seahawks are in the driver’s seat. The Cardinals will need help to try and capture a division crown. This one lived up to the expectations. Arizona drops to 6-4 and have to go on the road at New England next Sunday.