Published: Sunday, November 15, 2009
Seahawks miss an opportunity in loss to Cardinals
Great start goes south as Seahawks suffer crippling loss
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Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press
Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) celebrates his touchdown with teammate Early Doucet (80) as Seahawks defensive backs Jordan Babineaux (27) and Lawyer Milloy walk away in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. The Cardinals beat Seattle 31-20.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Seahawks played a lot better in their second go-around with defending NFC champs, but it still wasn’t enough.
A week after overcoming an early double-digit deficit against an inferior team, the Seahawks discovered what it was like to be the inferior team Sunday, relinquishing a 14-point lead in an eventual 31-20 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
The loss drops the Seahawks to 3-6, three games behind the NFC West-leading Cardinals who also hold the tiebreaker thanks to a season sweep.
This game was not nearly as one-sided as last month’s meeting in Seattle, a 27-3 Arizona victory, but despite the improvement, the Seahawks weren’t able to hang on after jumping to a 14-0 lead in the first half.
If there was even a shred of doubt heading into this game that the NFC West torch had been passed from the Seahawks, division champs from 2004-07, to the Cardinals, who seem destined now for a second straight title, it is gone now.
“The bottom line is that the team we played today, they’re ahead of us,” Seahawks head coach Jim Mora admitted after the game. “They’ve won five of the last six times we’ve played, so we’ve got to continue to try and get better, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The Seahawks did indeed get better since Arizona dominated in Qwest Field earlier this year. In that game the Seahawks rushed for a franchise-low 14 yards; on Sunday they gained 164 rushing yards, their best total since the season opener. T.J. Houshmandzadeh had his best game as a Seahawk, hauling in nine catches for 165 yards. They stopped Kurt Warner and the Arizona offense early and led 7-0 after one quarter, a huge feat for a team that had been outscored 55-16 in the first quarter of games this season before Sunday. After going 0-for-11 on third down last month against Arizona, the Seahawks converted 40 percent of their chances this time around.
The Seahawks had Cardinals fans, who had watched their team lose three of four at University of Phoenix Stadium heading into the game, booing the home team after a first-half three-and-out. Seattle had Arizona on the ropes, but the Seahawks couldn’t land the knockout blow.
Injuries were no longer an excuse. Tackle Sean Locklear, guard Rob Sims, linebacker Leroy Hill and cornerback Marcus Trufant, all of whom missed the last meeting with the Cardinals, were on the field Sunday.
Yet none of that mattered in the end. The Seahawks needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, but the Cardinals rallied to out-score Seattle 21-3 in the second half.
“It doesn’t feel like it right now, but I think when we look back at this we’ll see that we did improve as a football team today,” Mora said. “But it’s not good enough yet, not good enough to beat these guys yet, so we’ve got to keep working.”
For the first 30 minutes, it seemed like the Seahawks’ improvements would be good enough. Seattle’s defense forced the Cardinals to punt on each of their first five possessions, allowing just two first downs along the way.
Late in the first quarter, the Seahawks stopped the Cardinals on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, then marched 99 yards for a touchdown. That score came on an 11-yard run by Justin Forsett, who finished with 123 yards on 17 carries while filling in for an injured Julius Jones. Two possessions later, the Seahawks made it 14-0 on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck to John Carlson.
Arizona rallied with a touchdown and a field goal on its last two possessions of the half, but Seattle still led 17-10 at halftime. Seattle outgained the Cardinals 267-185 in the half, and had 13 first downs to Arizona’s nine.
The second half, however, would be a much different story. The Cardinals went 82 yards on the first possession of the second half to tie the game, beginning what would turn into a dominant second half.
The Seahawks appeared to be headed for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to break that tie, but had to settle for a field goal after having first-and-goal and the 1-yard line. The Cardinals followed that goal-line stand with a quick touchdown, then forced the Seahawks to punt. Arizona then put together another quick touchdown drive, and just like that it was 31-20 with 6 minutes, 11 seconds left in the game.
The Seahawks got the ball three more times after that, and twice drove into Cardinals territory, but both of those possessions ended with Matt Hasselbeck interceptions, the last of which came on second-and-goal from the 3-yard line.
“We just missed some opportunities in the red zone to score touchdowns,” said Hasselbeck, who completed 26 of 52 passes for 315 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. “We know that they are pretty good in the red zone, but we just missed some opportunities. Especially with the kind of offense that they have, you’ve got to score touchdowns when you can and we didn’t do that.”
And because the Seahawks couldn’t finish, their playoff hopes likely are finished. Better wasn’t good enough.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
A week after overcoming an early double-digit deficit against an inferior team, the Seahawks discovered what it was like to be the inferior team Sunday, relinquishing a 14-point lead in an eventual 31-20 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
The loss drops the Seahawks to 3-6, three games behind the NFC West-leading Cardinals who also hold the tiebreaker thanks to a season sweep.
This game was not nearly as one-sided as last month’s meeting in Seattle, a 27-3 Arizona victory, but despite the improvement, the Seahawks weren’t able to hang on after jumping to a 14-0 lead in the first half.
If there was even a shred of doubt heading into this game that the NFC West torch had been passed from the Seahawks, division champs from 2004-07, to the Cardinals, who seem destined now for a second straight title, it is gone now.
“The bottom line is that the team we played today, they’re ahead of us,” Seahawks head coach Jim Mora admitted after the game. “They’ve won five of the last six times we’ve played, so we’ve got to continue to try and get better, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The Seahawks did indeed get better since Arizona dominated in Qwest Field earlier this year. In that game the Seahawks rushed for a franchise-low 14 yards; on Sunday they gained 164 rushing yards, their best total since the season opener. T.J. Houshmandzadeh had his best game as a Seahawk, hauling in nine catches for 165 yards. They stopped Kurt Warner and the Arizona offense early and led 7-0 after one quarter, a huge feat for a team that had been outscored 55-16 in the first quarter of games this season before Sunday. After going 0-for-11 on third down last month against Arizona, the Seahawks converted 40 percent of their chances this time around.
The Seahawks had Cardinals fans, who had watched their team lose three of four at University of Phoenix Stadium heading into the game, booing the home team after a first-half three-and-out. Seattle had Arizona on the ropes, but the Seahawks couldn’t land the knockout blow.
Injuries were no longer an excuse. Tackle Sean Locklear, guard Rob Sims, linebacker Leroy Hill and cornerback Marcus Trufant, all of whom missed the last meeting with the Cardinals, were on the field Sunday.
Yet none of that mattered in the end. The Seahawks needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, but the Cardinals rallied to out-score Seattle 21-3 in the second half.
“It doesn’t feel like it right now, but I think when we look back at this we’ll see that we did improve as a football team today,” Mora said. “But it’s not good enough yet, not good enough to beat these guys yet, so we’ve got to keep working.”
For the first 30 minutes, it seemed like the Seahawks’ improvements would be good enough. Seattle’s defense forced the Cardinals to punt on each of their first five possessions, allowing just two first downs along the way.
Late in the first quarter, the Seahawks stopped the Cardinals on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, then marched 99 yards for a touchdown. That score came on an 11-yard run by Justin Forsett, who finished with 123 yards on 17 carries while filling in for an injured Julius Jones. Two possessions later, the Seahawks made it 14-0 on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck to John Carlson.
Arizona rallied with a touchdown and a field goal on its last two possessions of the half, but Seattle still led 17-10 at halftime. Seattle outgained the Cardinals 267-185 in the half, and had 13 first downs to Arizona’s nine.
The second half, however, would be a much different story. The Cardinals went 82 yards on the first possession of the second half to tie the game, beginning what would turn into a dominant second half.
The Seahawks appeared to be headed for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to break that tie, but had to settle for a field goal after having first-and-goal and the 1-yard line. The Cardinals followed that goal-line stand with a quick touchdown, then forced the Seahawks to punt. Arizona then put together another quick touchdown drive, and just like that it was 31-20 with 6 minutes, 11 seconds left in the game.
The Seahawks got the ball three more times after that, and twice drove into Cardinals territory, but both of those possessions ended with Matt Hasselbeck interceptions, the last of which came on second-and-goal from the 3-yard line.
“We just missed some opportunities in the red zone to score touchdowns,” said Hasselbeck, who completed 26 of 52 passes for 315 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. “We know that they are pretty good in the red zone, but we just missed some opportunities. Especially with the kind of offense that they have, you’ve got to score touchdowns when you can and we didn’t do that.”
And because the Seahawks couldn’t finish, their playoff hopes likely are finished. Better wasn’t good enough.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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