The good, the bad, and the ugly from Seahawks’ loss to Cardinals
The Seattle Seahawks are no longer undefeated, dropping to 5-1 after a 34-37 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals on “Sunday Night Football.” In true Seahawks fashion, the matchup was anything but boring, with highlights and horrors galore for both of the NFC West’s top teams. Here is just some of the good, the bad, and the ugly from yesterday’s primetime matchup.
THE GOOD
The receivers: Tyler Lockett thrilled both Seahawks fans and fantasy owners everywhere with his tremendous career night, catching 15 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns. DK Metcalf may not have lit up the stat sheet, but he prevented Cardinals safety Budda Baker from scoring a 98-yard pick-six early in the second quarter, sprinting at a recorded 22.64 mph to finally tackle the speedy DB at the Seahawks’ 8-yard line. David Moore did what he does best as the Seahawks’ WR3, appearing seemingly out of nowhere to create crucial first downs for the offense. Even without signing Antonio Brown, this unit should be set for quite some time.
Pass protection: While hardly elite, the Seahawks’ offensive line has played above expectations in 2020, and Sunday night was one of their better outings of the season. They did not surrender a single sack until overtime (in which they relinquished two), and Wilson often had plenty of time to make plays with his arm or his legs. A couple of false start penalties from RT Brandon Shell and a tripping call against RG Damien Lewis kept the unit’s overall performance from being truly great, but they were impressive in comparison to many of Seattle’s previous (recent) front fives.
THE BAD
Russell Wilson: Wilson is saved from the “ugly” category due to his first-half play, in which he recorded 16 completions on 24 pass attempts for 256 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in addition to 56 yards on the ground. Unfortunately, his second half was much less successful as he managed just 67 passing yards and a touchdown with yet another pick. Wilson’s clutch factor was nowhere to be found when the game went to overtime, as he was unable to bring his team into field goal range on the first drive and followed that up with his third interception of the night on the Seahawks’ second OT drive. After such a promising start to the evening, to say that Wilson’s late-game performance was disappointing would be an understatement.
The pass rush: Seattle recorded zero – yes, zero – hits on opposing QB Kyler Murray, which speaks to both his quick release and his Wilson-esque evasiveness on the run. It also speaks to the utter inability of the Seahawks’ front seven to generate pressure against an offensive line that could generously be described as “questionable.” GM John Schneider’s decision to not pursue a top pass-rusher during the offseason looks worse and worse as the weeks go by.
THE UGLY
Injuries: Three Seahawks and four Cardinals left the field with injuries on Sunday night and did not return, in addition to a number of players who did rejoin the contest after some time on the sideline. For the Seahawks, RB Chris Carson went into the locker room during the first half with what coach Pete Carroll described as a “mid-foot sprain,” while CB Shaquill Griffin and RB Travis Homer suffered a concussion and a knee contusion, respectively, in the second half. On the Cardinals’ side, LB Isaiah Irving was strapped to a backboard after injuring his neck lowering his helmet into Travis Homer’s shoulder; he reportedly has feeling in all of his extremities. The cart came back out late in the game for RB Kenyan Drake, who ripped his helmet off in agony from an apparent ankle injury. DEs Zach Allen (ankle) and Jordan Phillips (hamstring) were also forced to exit the game. This season has been absolutely brutal across the league, inspiring debates on the merits of preseason games and of artificial turf versus real grass fields. State Farm Stadium in particular holds several bad memories for Seahawks fans, injury-related (Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Will Dissly) and performance-related (Super Bowl XLIX, the 6-6 tie in 2016).
Mayowa’s penalty: The Seahawks were up by 10 points over the Cardinals with 3:02 left in the fourth quarter as Arizona kicker Zane Gonzalez lined up for a 52-yard field goal attempt. Regardless of whether or not Gonzalez made the kick, all the Seahawks had to do in order to put the game away was to play it safe, get two or three first downs, and run out the clock (provided that nothing bad happened). Something bad did happen, however, when DE Benson Mayowa committed two penalties by jumping early and using leverage to vault over the opposing linemen in an attempt to block the kick. The resulting 15 yards awarded to the Cardinals breathed new life into their offense, culminating in a touchdown two plays later for a massive momentum swing. Of all eight penalties that Seattle committed on Sunday night, Mayowa’s was by far the most costly, not only because of the yardage but also due to its timing.
