Seahawks beat Cardinals in an exceedingly weird game

The Seahawks moved to 2-2 but lost a future Hall of Famer and won a game that shouldn’t have been close. What does it mean?

The Seahawks defeated the Cardinals 20-17 on a last-second field goal by Sebastian Janikowski. This was after Janikowski had missed two field goals earlier in the game. And he should have never had to make those kicks for Seattle to win. This was a strange game.

The most important thing to come out of this game, however, may have been the fact that safety Earl Thomas was injured in the fourth quarter. He may have broken his leg on what ended up as an Arizona touchdown pass. Thomas’s injury was non-contact and was while he was in coverage.

Thomas seemed quite displeased as he was being carted off the field, though. After other players knelt or stood by him, Thomas appeared to show Seattle another sign he felt disrespected.

Has he been? Seattle signed him and just hasn’t been extended. But Thomas is displeased.

But back to the game, this was a one-sided event. At least statistics wise. The Seahawks outgained Arizona in total yards 331-263 and time of possession 31:46 to 28:14. For most of the game, these numbers were far more in favor of the Seahawks.

But then play-calling got in the way. On an important third-and-one for Seattle, instead of running the ball, Seattle dropped backed to pass. This with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Seattle didn’t try to take the game. They were trying not-to-lose. Weird for a team that has to earn its way to a playoff spot.

The great thing for the Seahawks was that for the second week in a row they had a running back run for over 100 yards. Mike Davis, starting for injured Chris Carson and over rookie Rashaad Penny, rushed for 101 yards on 21 carries and tow touchdowns.

So the Seahawks moved to 2-2. This is in a week where they were seemingly outcoached and the momentum was not on their side. Arizona scored just 20 points coming into the game for the season but scored 17 on Sunday. Josh Rosen looked poised and once given the chance to throw was solid.

So why did Seattle win? I have no idea. The Cardinals did not call a timeout when they had three left before Janikowski’s last-second attempt. Russell Wilson was 19 of 26 but for just 172 yards and no touchdowns. The Cardinals had just two sacks the Seahawks one. It was an odd game.

And though Seattle lost Thomas, didn’t have Carson and were 0-10 on third down conversions, Seattle won. Because this is the NFL in 2018. And though the Seahawks are just 2-2, stranger things have happened than a team like Seattle making the playoffs. Anything is possible, even when it appears they don’t deserve to happen.