It may not have been pretty, but the Seattle Seahawks took care of business at home by defeating the Arizona Cardinals 20-10. This is the second straight home win over Arizona, having won another defensive slugfest 19-9 last year. Fortunately for the Seahawks, style points don’t matter in the NFL, only wins do.
The Seahawks started the game with a 28-yard touchdown strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the first quarter. It was his first career score. But special teams mishaps cost Seattle three points on the next Cardinals possession. Arizona had punted the ball away at their 15, only to regain it at the Seahawks 30-yard line thanks to a DeeJay Dallas fumbled punt. Seattle’s defense did hold them to only a field goal.
The Cardinals eventually did manage to take a lead on their next possession. A bizarre sequence in the red zone involving multiple penalties by both teams erased a Devon Witherspoon interception and gave Arizona an unusual 1st-and-goal from the 25-yard line… where quarterback Josh Dobbs ran it in relatively untouched for a score.
Seattle finished the half strong, and managed to find the end zone for the second – and final – time of the afternoon. Rookie receiver Jake Bobo hauled in a beautiful toe-tapping touchdown, which was originally called incomplete. But a second successful Pete Carroll challenge overturned the call, and gave the Seahawks a lead they would not relinquish.
The second half proved to be a bit more sluggish for both teams, as Seattle only managed six points off two field goals for their only scoring output. But it was more than enough to take advantage of yet another strong outing from their defense, who pitched a shutout in the final two frames.
The Seahawks improve to 4-2 and get back on the winning track following their Week 6 loss to the Bengals. It was an important win over a division opponent, and important in the big picture as their other division rival – the Los Angeles Rams – dropped a game to the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-17 at home.
Seattle will be back at Lumen Field next week for their long-awaited throwback uniform game, as they host the similarly 4-2 Cleveland Browns.
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