In a game that felt closer to a blowout snooze fest for the first three quarters, it turned into a wild walk off win for the Seattle Seahawks 23-20 over the Arizona Cardinals.
In classic Thursday Night
Football fashion, this game was sloppy, choppy, and chaotic, as the Seahawks blew a 20-6 lead in the final minutes, just to capitalize on a Cardinals kickoff mistake that allowed Jason Myers to hit the 52-yard game winner. In what felt like a must-win game, considering Seattle was facing the possibility of falling to 0-2 in the division, the Seahawks found a way to get the massive road division win, and are now 3-1 on the year.
Let’s break it all down.
1st Down – Sam Darnold continues his ascension
Through four games, I don’t know how you can be anything other than excited by what Sam Darnold has shown. The divisive free agent acquisition has continued his stellar play from last year’s regular season in Minnesota, and the league is starting to notice.
Thursday night’s game was a perfect encapsulation of his play through the first four games of the season. Darnold, back in the Kubiak/Shanahan scheme, has so far been asked to do slightly less than what was asked of him in Minnesota, but it has created a hyper efficient version of Sam that we’ve never seen.
Last night, Darnold looked like the best player on the field. He was accurate on all three levels, he used his athleticism to escape a collapsing pocket all night, and made multiple big time throws, including the game winning 22 yard pass to Smith-Njigba in the final seconds to set up the game-winning kick. This was his second game winning drive on the season, although this game should’ve been a blowout, if not for critical mistakes by his teammates around him, that stalled out drives.
Last night just backed up what we’ve seen from the former first-round pick. Darnold is completing 70% of his passes, nearly 4% higher than last season. His passer rating of 106.5 is seventh best in the NFL, and his 9.1 yards per completion is fourth best in the league. While only throwing 25 passes a game this year, compared to 32 last year, he’s still making the most of his throws.
If not for some brutal turnovers against San Francisco and some mental errors tonight, Darnold and Seattle should be 4-0 and averaging more than 27.8 ppg they’re already averaging. It’s only four games into a long season, but it’s hard not to see a Baker Mayfield-esque impact Sam has had on this offense and team.
2nd Down – Klint Kubiak’s best game?
I was pretty surprised after the game to hear many griping about Klint Kubiak’s play calling in last night’s game. I actually believe that was his best game as the Seahawks OC so far.
Kubiak came out aggressive with his heavy 12 personnel look, and got his two young talented tight ends involved early as A.J. Barner and Elijah Arroyo dominated the first half. That was Klint’s calling card (heavy 12 personnel) in New Orleans, and I truly believe it will be Seattle’s best way to excel in offense in 2025.
Despite the loss of Robbie Ouzts, Kubiak still found a way to get the Seahawks running game back on track as the team ran for 155 yards. Despite JSN being a non-factor for the first three quarters, when it mattered most, Klint found ways to get him one on one coverage for three massive first down conversions late.
Do I love the conservative play calling in the penultimate drive that led to a Myers missed field goal? No, but when you look at the totality of last night, I thought it was a massive step in the right direction. The Cardinals have a playoff caliber defense, and if not for a missed field goal, questionable JSN holding call, and Kenneth Walker’s taunting penalty, the Seahawks should have probably scored 30+ points, on the road against a desperate division rival.
Stay healthy, and the sky is the limit for this offense.
3rd Down – Dominant defense, except…
For the first 50 minutes of the game, Mike Macdonald’s unit was as dominant as ever. Six sacks on the night, and two interceptions showed once again that this defense is right in the middle of the “top defense in the league” conversation. The final 10 minutes left a bit to be desired from two of the more notable guys on the roster, Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon.
Woolen continued his up and down play, with what I thought was a poor performance throughout last night. Multiple penalties (he’s one of the NFL’s most penalized players) and big completions that allowed Marvin Harrison Jr to finally wake up, allowed the Cardinals to stay in the game early and mount their comeback.
In his first game back from injury, Devon Witherspoon struggled in coverage, as he was picked on late by the Cardinals and gave up both of their late touchdowns to tie the game in the final 30 seconds. I get it, he is probably not 100%, but I do feel like the production is not matching the talent or the expectations that came with being the fifth pick in his draft. There’s no denying that Witherspoon is extremely talented, but for this defense to take that next step, it felt like Spoon and Riq were going to have to make the leap.
The surprise jumps by both Josh Jobe and Derion Kendrick have still allowed this defense to be elite, but it is fair to wonder how sustainable that will be throughout the season. This can be the best secondary in the NFL, they just need Witherspoon or Woolen to play to their potential.
4th Down- A win is a win
To see the Seahawks bully the Cardinals for 50 minutes was a joy to watch. To watch it all come apart in the final few minutes was disgusting to watch. To walk out of that horrible stadium with horrible memories with a road division win? Made it all worth it.
The Seahawks earned back a road division win after giving one away at home in week one. They sit at 3-1 and will now get an extra few days of rest before the wounded Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to Seattle, followed by a road game at Jacksonville, and then Monday Night Football at home against the Houston Texans. That is not exactly murderers’ row, and the potential of a 6-1 start feels very much on the table.
There’s a lot to like from this team, while also acknowledging there is a lot to still clean up. I think we learned something on Thursday from this offense and from our quarterback, and that has me excited and hopeful for this team’s chances of getting back to playoff football.
Going for two
1- Jason Myers
Way to bounce back, bud. Make sure to hit the smelling salts before every kick now.
2- JSN continues superstar level of play
Great players aren’t always great, they’re just great when they have to be. Smith-Njigba was more of a decoy in the first three quarters, but late, and with the game on the line, he stepped up. He was a star with Darnold out there, and together they put the game away.
