Seahawks Can’t Overcome Ugly First Half Against the Cardinals
By Ben Renner
The Seahawks dug themselves a hole in the first half against the Cardinals on Christmas Eve they couldn’t get out of in a 34-31 loss.
The first half of the Seahawks game should be banned from TV, or at least come with a parental advisory disclaimer before replays. At the end of the first quarter of the Seahawks’ 34-31 loss to Arizona, Seattle had one total yard of offense. One. The offensive line simply had no answer for the relentless Arizona front seven. Russell Wilson was sacked five times by halftime, and the stat line for the Cardinals’ defense read 10 tackles for loss (10!), six sacks, and a whopping 14 quarterback hits by the end.
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and assistant head coach Tom Cable swapped out right tackle Bradley Sowell with Garry Gilliam during the week to try and open running lanes for Thomas Rawls and try to keep Wilson from getting killed. Sowell originally replaced Gilliam earlier in the season, but the coaching staff wanted to go back with Gilliam for some reason.
The swap-back failed. The Seahawks had two red zone opportunities in the first half that produced a combined total of zero points. In the first quarter, Seattle advanced to the Arizona 20 on a pass interference call (the longest play from scrimmage for the Hawks to that point by far), stalled on third down, called in Steven Hauschka (who has a problem kicking against the Cards), and got the field goal attempt blocked. The kick seemed low on replays, but once again the offensive line couldn’t stop anyone.
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The second failed red zone opportunity came in the second quarter and cost the Seahawks dearly. Wilson finally found more than half a second to throw and dropped a dime to Tyler Lockett, who broke his leg catching the ball while falling to the ground. Despite Lockett’s efforts and his season-ending injury, he was ruled down at the half-yard line. The Seahawks tried four plays, lost yardage, and gave the ball back to the Cardinals. On the ensuing possession, the defense once again bailed out the offense, this time by forcing and recovering a fumble. But three plays inside the Arizona ten went nowhere. Hauschka managed to squeak in a field goal.
In the second half, the Seahawks came back. Wilson found receiver Doug Baldwin open all day. The receiver finished with 13 catches and 171 yards, both career-highs. Playing from a deficit all second half, Wilson was forced to throw. (He also ended up Seattle’s leading rusher on the day with 36 yards on ten carries). And the offensive line managed to keep the Cardinals at bay, except for a blocked punt and a throw-away on fourth down by Wilson. He finished with 350 yards and four touchdowns). But the defense couldn’t stop Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, and especially David Johnson.
Johnson finished with three touchdowns and 136 total yards. Fitzgerald caught two clutch passes, one a floater to set up a late touchdown; the other a short dink with less than a minute left that gave Arizona kicker Chandler Catanzaro a better chance to sink a field goal at the buzzer to win it. Add another play to the long list of daggers by epic Seahawk-slayer Fitzgerald.
With the loss, the Seahawks fell from the driver’s seat as the number-two seed into the trunk. They are now a number-four seed. If the Falcons beat New Orleans at home on New Year’s Day, they’ll be the NFC’s two-seed and earn a first round bye. The Hawks can still claim a bye if they beat 2-13 San Francisco and get help from the Cowboys tonight or the Packers next week and the Saints. (It’s complicated).
The Seahawks play the 49ers New Year’s Day in Santa Clara at 1:25pm.