GLENDALE, Ariz. — It was workmanlike. Maybe at times not all that exciting. And, for an instant, even a little anxiety-inducing.
But when it was over, the Seahawks had one of the most satisfying wins they've had in years here Sunday, a 31-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals that gave them a sweep over one of their most heated NFC West rivals.
It was also the Seahawks' fourth straight win, improving their record to 6-3 and keeping them in front of the NFC West by a game-and-a-half.
And it was achieved with another stellar performance by a Seattle defense that a month ago was drawing comparisons to some of the worst in team history.
Instead, in the span of a month — starting with a 19-9 win over Arizona on Oct. 16 in Seattle — the Seahawks have morphed into one of the best defenses in the NFL, keying the team's surge to the top of the NFC West.
Seattle held Arizona to just one offensive touchdown in the first three quarters before allowing a late touchdown as the clock was running out.
And when Arizona briefly grabbed the lead — and seemingly the momentum with a pick-six by linebacker Zaven Collins early in the third quarter — Geno Smith calmly led the Seahawks on touchdown drives on their next three possessions to retake the lead.
Smith finished the game 26-of-34 for 275 yards and two touchdowns, with his passer rating brought down to 106.9 due to the pick-six.
But more important, Smith helped Seattle convert seven straight third downs on the two second-half TD drives, once throwing a pass to Tyler Lockett to convert a third-and-12 and another time scrambling for 18 yards to convert a third-and-7.
A Smith pass of 9 yards to Tyler Lockett gave Seattle the lead for good in the third quarter at 17-14 following after the pick-six.
The 30-yard defensive score put the Cardinals ahead 14-10 at the 9:18 mark of the third quarter and for an instant seemed to indicate that weird things might again be happening in Arizona — where strange things usually happen for the Seahawks.
Instead, the Seahawks scored on their next three possessions on drives of 75, 81 and 85 yards to put away the Cardinals and send a team that a year ago started the season 7-0 to 3-6.
Arizona cut the lead to three with a 6-yard Kyler Murray pass to Zach Ertz with 3:35 left.
But the Seahawks drove 85 yards in five plays for a 5-yard TD run by Kenneth Walker III with 2:14 that put the game away.
Arizona drove 83 yards on nine plays the first time it had the ball, which seemed foreboding.
But from there, the Seahawks defense largely dominated, until a late drive at the end of the game, holding the Cardinals to 262 yards.
And after that opening drive, the Seattle defense made play after play to turn the game around, notably a Ryan Neal forced fumble on a run by Murray late in the second half, and four sacks, including two more by Uchenna Nwosu, who now has seven on the year.
Seattle outgained Arizona 423-262 and converted 10 of 15 third downs, while holding Arizona to 4.6 yards per play.
