For the Seattle Seahawks, it was an important victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
The Seahawks showed up and performed an efficient running game over the Cardinals in their matchup. The Seahawks outrushed Arizona with a total of 165 rushing yards at the conclusion of the game. It was vintage Seattle with its impressive performance in the rushing game.
Veteran running back Carlos Hyde emerged for Seattle as he rushed for a team-high of 78 yards. Not only that but Hyde had a two-yard touchdown in the third quarter to put Seattle up 23-14 at the end of the third quarter.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was on top form as he went 23 for 28 with two touchdowns. Wilson was able to bounce back after posting a combined 10 turnovers in the previous four games.
Despite these good performances, it was the Seattle defense that came up huge for them. Especially during the second half when Arizona was on the verge of a comeback. Arizona’s quarterback Kyler Murray was leading the charge. Arizona was able to trim the Seattle lead to 23-21 in the fourth quarter with 13 minutes remaining after Murray’s touchdown pass to Chase Edmonds. Murray finished the game 29 of 42 with two touchdowns.
Luckily, for the Seahawks, their defense was able to hold the Cardinals in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks were able to consistently pressure Murray throughout the game as they were able to sack him three times. The biggest sack of the game occurred on the Cardinals’ possession late in the game with just 38 seconds left in the game. Arizona was on fourth-and-10 at Seattle’s 27, with the chance to win the game. Seahawks defensive end Carlos Dunlap was able to tackle and sack Murray.
“They definitely played for me in certain situations but as I said, we put up 21, had a chance to win the game at the end, but throughout the game, we started slow and kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” Murray said.
This was a big one for Seattle as they needed this win to become the division leader of the NFC West for now. With a seven-win and three-loss record, they are just a game above second-place rival the Los Angeles Rams who have a record of six wins and three losses. However, for the Seahawks, their schedule for the next four games will be against teams with losing records. Their combined next four opponents have a combined record of eight wins and 21 losses.
