TEMPE, Ariz. – One of the greatest players in NFL history was performing like he was in his prime Sunday.
Unfortunately for the Seattle Seahawks, it wasn’t Jerry Rice.
The 42-year-old wide receiver had a relatively quiet afternoon in his Seahawks debut, catching one pass for 10 yards while dropping a catchable ball later in the game.
Arizona running back Emmitt Smith, who holds many NFL records in his own right despite being almost seven years younger than Rice, was a key figure in the Cardinals’ 25-17 win.
Smith had 106 rushing yards, only his second 100-yard rushing performance of the season, and scored an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter. It was the 78th time Smith has rushed for more than 100 yards in a game, breaking Walter Payton’s league record.
Smith was the runaway winner in a rare head-to-head battle between the NFL’s all-time leading rusher and receiver.
“He’s one of the best,” said Rice, who congratulated Smith after the game. “I just wanted to wish him the best. He’s still got it.”
While Smith helped carry his team to victory, Rice is still trying to find his niche with the Seahawks. He started the game as part of a four-receiver set, stepping into the void left by injured No. 3 receiver Bobby Engram, and played a total of 22 plays.
The Seahawks threw in his direction six times, many of them missing their intended target. His first catch in a Seattle uniform came on a short pass over the middle in the first quarter. Rice caught the ball and carried defensive back Renaldo Hill 4 yards to convert a third-and-6.
Rice’s best opportunity at another catch came late in the first half, when Matt Hasselbeck threw to him on a short out pattern to the sideline. That ball hit Rice’s hands but fell incomplete.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I have to play better football this coming week,” said Rice, who wore the No. 80 as a tribute to Steve Largent. “I’m going to work extra hard this coming week, do the little things, pay attention to details, and try to turn this around.”
Rice now has six receptions on the season, the first five of which came with the Oakland Raiders. He was traded to the Seahawks last week for a conditional seventh-round draft choice.
The last time that the NFL’s all-time leading rusher faced its all-time leading receiver was in 1984, when Walter Payton’s Chicago Bears went against Charlie Joiner’s San Diego Chargers.
Robinson update: According to an ESPN television report Sunday morning, Seahawks receiver Koren Robinson will have his appeal denied and could be suspended as soon as this week.
The report stated that Robinson will be suspended four games under the NFL’s policy on substance abuse after failing a third drug test for marijuana use.
Neither Robinson nor the Seahawks were allowed to comment on the possibility of a suspension.
Robinson was in uniform Sunday and caught two passes for 32 yards.
Ravaged by injuries: The Seahawks’ starting lineup included four new starters, while Engram and punter Tom Rouen were also among the inactives. Right tackle Chris Terry (shoulder), defensive end Grant Wistrom (knee) and linebackers Anthony Simmons (shoulder) and Chad Brown (broken leg) were among the seven inactives.
Defensive tackle Rashad Moore (shoulder) was also taken out of the starting lineup due to injury, although he did play on nearly half of Seattle’s defensive plays. Rocky Bernard got his first start in Moore’s place and made six tackles.
Floyd Womack stepped in for Terry at right tackle, Antonio Cochran replaced Wistrom, and Tracy White got his first start in Simmons’s place. White had a team-high 13 tackles and opened the game with a sack.
Isaiah Kacyvenski started for the sixth time in place of Brown, who is expected to make his season debut next Sunday. Kacyvenski sustained a sprained ankle in the second quarter and was replaced by Solomon Bates, who played his college ball at Sun Devil Stadium while at Arizona State University.
Mind block: The Seahawks watched the momentum of Ken Lucas’s fourth-quarter return touchdown get detonated by a blocked punt a few minutes later.
That block led to an Arizona safety that turned a 17-16 deficit into an 18-17 Cardinals lead with 8:50 remaining in the game.
“It’s always bad to get a punt blocked,” said rookie punter Donnie Jones, who was playing in place of Rouen for the second week in a row. “It’s a huge momentum changer in the game. It’s one of those things where we can’t let it happen again.”
The chaos started when J.P. Darche’s snap was a bit low and to Jones’s left, causing the punter to lose his rhythm.
“I know it wasn’t a good snap, and I know I feel bad,” said Darche, whose snapping has been near-flawless during his five seasons with the Seahawks. “That was a key point in the game.
“That’s my job. I’ve got to do it right – not most of the time, but every time. That was big.”
Darche’s snap was only a small part of the equation, as a missed block from Terreal Bierria allowed Arizona’s Gerald Hayes to get his hands on the ball.
“It’s all about execution,” Jones said. “As a team, we just didn’t execute. We’ve got to watch the film, see what happened, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
One for the rook: In a head-to-head battle of NFC West opponents that should go carry on for years, Arizona receiver Larry Fitzgerald landed the first blow before Marcus Trufant answered.
Fitzgerald, a rookie from the University of Pittsburgh, beat Trufant on two receptions during Arizona’s first two drives of the game. The second one was a 25-yard touchdown catch in which he out-muscled Trufant for a jump ball.
But Trufant settled in and helped hold Fitzgerald to just two receptions for 9 yards the rest of the way.
Quick slants: Wideout Darrell Jackson led the Seahawks in receiving for the fifth time in six games this season. Jackson had eight catches for a season-high 117 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown. … The Cardinals dominated time of possession: 39:51 to 20:09. … Arizona’s Neil Rackers became the first NFL kicker to hit three field goals from 50 yards in one game since Morten Andersen did it in 1995. … Arizona head coach Dennis Green now has a 10-5 record against Mike Holmgren-coached teams. They squared off 14 times in NFC Central games between Minnesota and Green Bay in the 1990s. … Green-coached teams are now 10-2 coming off of bye weeks. … The Cardinals still haven’t allowed a rushing touchdown this season. … The Seahawks have lost three in a row for the first time since they opened the 2002 season with an 0-3 record.
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