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The Seattle Seahawks held off their NFC West rival, the Arizona Cardinals, in a 23-20 victory on the road on Thursday night.
The Seahawks improved to 3-1 to start the early season, while the Cardinals fell to 2-2.
There wasn’t much coming from the Cardinals’ offense in this game, but the fourth quarter made the game very interesting as Kyler Murray finally got some momentum going.
Marvin Harrison Jr., who was having a rough game at that point, was trusted by Murray on a pass to the end zone, and he hauled it in over Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon to make it a one-score game after the extra point.
Sam Darnold and the Seahawks, owning a 20-13 lead, knew they could seal victory with a long drive, killing clock and making it a two-score game. It looked like that was coming when Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught a 36-yard pass on third-and-6 to get into Cardinals territory.
But three plays later, Jason Myers was trying a 53-yard field goal and he missed wide right to keep the Cardinals’ hopes alive. And Murray delivered the drive his team needed to tie it up.
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The Cardinals went 12 plays and 57 yards in just under three minutes, as running back Emari Demercado was wide open on second-and-goal and he ran into the end zone for the tie following the extra point with 28 seconds left to play in regulation.
There was a slim chance Darnold could get Myers back in his field goal range to try a game-winner, but that all changed when Chad Ryland’s kickoff attempt failed to get into the designated landing zone between the goal line and the 20-yard line. The ball bounced just before the 20-yard line, giving Seattle the ball at their own 40-yard line.
Darnold got the ball onto Arizona’s side thanks to a perfect pass to Smith-Njigba for a 22-yard gain. After a Zach Charbonnet four-yard run, Myers had another chance from almost the same distance as he lined up a 52-yarder.
This time, it was true as the Seahawks celebrated their victory in a big divisional matchup.
As noted, this game wasn’t an offensive thriller as both defenses were playing their opponents well. However, Darnold was able to orchestrate two touchdown drives, finding tight end A.J. Barner from 16 yards out for the team’s first points on the scoreboard, while Charbonnet ran one in at the goal line in the second quarter to head into the locker room with a 14-3 lead.
Both teams would find a field goal in the third quarter before the fourth turned this game into a thriller.
Looking at the stat sheet, Darnold was 18-of-26 for 242 yards with his touchdown pass and no interceptions, with Smith-Njigba leading the way with 79 yards on just four catches. Kenneth Walker III may not have found the end zone, but he did lead the rushing attack with 81 yards on 19 carries compared to Charbonnet’s 39 yards on 12 touches in the backfield.
As for the Cardinals, Murray was 27-of-41 with two touchdown passes and two interceptions thrown, including one that luckily went back to Arizona after Cobe Bryant ran into his own Seahawks teammate and fumbled while returning the pick. Harrison was the leading receiver with 66 yards on six catches.
Trey Benson, who will be filling in for James Conner the remainder of the season after his year-ending foot injury last week, had 35 yards on just eight carries in his first game as the team’s primary running back. He also had five catches from Murray for 19 yards.
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