Rapid Reaction: Seahawks Survive Cardinals’ Comeback, Escape With 23-20 Win

GLENDALE, Ariz. - After watching a 14-point lead evaporate in the second half, Sam Darnold calmly completed a 22-yard strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jason Myers split the uprights as time expired to secure a thrilling 23-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Finishing with 242 passing yards and a 16-yard touchdown to AJ Barner, Darnold continued his excellent stretch of play to open the season, while Zach Charbonnet added a rushing touchdown. Coby Bryant and Ernest Jones each recorded interceptions while the Seahawks sacked Kyler Murray six times in the victory.

Here are five takeaways from Seattle’s latest road victory at State Farm Stadium:

1. Sam Darnold keeps slinging the pigskin efficiently in and out of pocket - when pass protection holds up.

Prior to Thursday’s contest, the Seahawks had allowed a grand total of three sacks on Darnold in the first 12 quarters of play. By the middle of third quarter in Arizona, the Cardinals had surpassed that number, getting home to sack the veteran four times on his first 16 drop backs with two of those setting back promising drives and one leading to a fumble that fortunately was recovered by tight end Eric Saubert. From that standpoint, the visitors won’t be happy with the results protecting the signal caller, as he was under frequent fire from an aggressive defense that brings pressure from all three levels and does a fine job schematically of creating mismatches with exotic looks that can muddy up communication in the trenches.

But when Darnold had time to operate, as he has throughout his first season in Seattle, the gunslinger delivered the goods in and out of the pocket. In both of the team’s first half touchdown drives, he connected on clutch third down throws, including an 11-yard bullet to Cooper Kupp that set up a 16-yard scoring toss to Barner on a wheel route and a 32-yard dart to Elijah Arroyo in the shadow of his own goal post that set up Charbonnet’s run. On that latter drive, he also took off for a 24-yard run when the middle of the field open up off the snap. He later added a 36-yard dime into the bucket downfield on a fade to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, only for Jason Myers to miss a 53-yard field goal that would have iced the game on that possession. Playing with ice in his veins, he hit Smith-Njigba again on a 22-yard fade after Arizona tied the game, positioning Myers for redemption.

2. Fans got to take a ride on the Ken Walker III experience - both the good and the bad sections.

Thanks to a trio of 19-plus yard runs, Walker finished with north of 80 rushing yards and a healthy 4.3 yards per carry on the night, displaying his electric acceleration and breakaway burst when he had space to operate. Two of those runs came on touchdown drives in the first half and he added a 29-yard reception on a bubble screen on the game’s opening series where he wiggled through tackles down the sideline, so he made plenty of positive contributions that led to the win out of the backfield. After all, he finished with his second highest rushing total and most total yards from scrimmage in a game this season.

And yet, at the same time, Walker also had two runs that he inexplicably went backwards on that lost five and six yards respectively that put the team way behind the sticks. He also had a crucial taunting penalty after being tackled on a run late in the second quarter that turned what would have been 3rd and 3 deep in Arizona territory into a 3rd and 18, eventually leading to a punt instead of a field goal. Those three points coming off the board with his lack of discipline in a key juncture of the game nearly ended up costing the team in the end and as a fourth-year veteran in the league, he has to play smarter than that.

3. Uchenna Nwosu and the front line bottled up Kyler Murray’s rushing talents - until the final 15.

Building off of their success in two wins against the Cardinals last year where Murray was held to 25 combined rushing yards, the Seahawks had the dual threat quarterback tied up in knots for the first 45 minutes and change on Thursday night. When Arizona tried to get him involved with designed quarterback runs early, Derick Hall chased him down from behind to trip him up for a three-yard run and Demarcus Lawrence along with other pursuing defenders forced him out of bounds well short of the marker on a bootleg scramble to force a punt. He finished the first half with just 11 rushing yards on three carries, rendered a non-factor with Nwosu and Leonard Williams each sacking him along the way.

However, the tide turned in the final quarter with the Cardinals engineering two late touchdown drives to tie the game and Murray’s legs played a key part in the comeback. Prior to connecting with Marvin Harrison Jr. for an 16-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to seven, he shot out of the pocket with tons of green in front of him due to Seattle’s defensive line getting way too wide in their rushing lanes, taking off for a 29-yard scamper that completely seemed to change the momentum of the game. From there, he found his rhythm as a passer with his legs back underneath him and even with six sacks on the night, the Seahawks couldn’t get the ball rolling back in their favor and were fortunate the late flurry didn’t lead to a stunning defeat.

4. An opportunistic defense that had Murray on his heels isn’t rewarded for creating timely turnovers.

When the Seahawks visit State Farm Stadium, fans should always expect chaos, and it only took a few minutes before chaos struck on Thursday night. On the Cardinals second offensive series, Murray appeared to have a communication issue with one of his receivers, airmailing a throw that landed right in the hands of safety Coby Bryant, who had a running start and looked poised for a long return on the gifted turnover. However, linebacker Tyrice Knight peeled back trying to make a block and ended up hitting his own teammate, knocking the ball loose for a fumble that the Cardinals recovered and turned into a Chad Ryland field goal to open the scoring.

In the ensuing quarter, Murray again was let down by his receiving corps, as a perfect throw to Harrison on a slant ended up being bobbled by the former top-five pick before a hit popped the ball into the air for linebacker Ernest Jones to run underneath for the pick and returning it past midfield. But Seattle again failed to capitalize, this time having a 3rd and 3 turn into 3rd and 18 with running back Ken Walker III getting flagged for a devastating taunting penalty. A four-yard loss on a screen on the next play further pushed the team out of field goal range, leading to a Michael Dickson punt with two turnovers netting a negative three point differential. Adding insult to injury, Julian Love dropped a gimme interception in Arizona territory late in the half that could have resulted in more points.

5. The Seahawks still have a significant issue in the secondary with Riq Woolen struggling.

In the grand scheme of things, football is a team game and it’s far from fair to pin a game on one player, as several players made mistakes or were beaten down the stretch as the Cardinals mounted a furious rally. But ultimately, Woolen’s mistakes carried more weight in the final quarter. Having already been nailed for one penalty for a face mask in the first half, a defensive pass interference penalty midway through the third against Michael Wilson after getting beat downfield immediately put the Cardinals in field goal range, allowing them to cut the lead down to 11 moments later.

Fast forwarding to the final stanza, Woolen again got handsy and didn’t make an effort to turn to play the football on a fade route to receiver Xavier Weaver in the red zone, quickly drawing obvious flags against the veteran cornerback and an automatic first and goal. Two plays later, even after Murray took a sack from Nwosu on the prior snap, the quarterback hit Harrison in the back lefthand corner of the end zone to kick the comeback into motion. Those two penalties directly led to 10 points that helped the Cardinals claw back into the contest and for the second time in a month, the coaching staff will have to figure out what to do moving forward given the critical mistakes the talented, yet inconsistent defender continues to commit.