The Arizona Cardinals faced a challenging moment in their season, suffering a critical 30-18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, marked by costly mistakes from quarterback Kyler Murray.
Murray threw two interceptions in the first half that directly led to touchdowns for Seattle, contributing to a disappointing defeat. “It was a disappointing loss — we didn’t play our best ball,” said Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon. “I’ve got to find some answers because we haven’t played great the past few weeks.”
Just a month ago, the Cardinals (6-7) were leading the NFC West, buoyed by a four-game winning streak. However, a three-game losing streak since their bye week has left them in a precarious position, trailing the Seahawks (8-5) by two games in the division standings, with Seattle also holding the tiebreaker.
“It’s tough, obviously, when you lose to a divisional opponent, but we’ve still got four games left,” said linebacker Mack Wilson. “There’s still a lot of football to be played.”
The game began promisingly for Arizona, with Murray connecting with Michael Wilson for a 41-yard touchdown on the opening drive. However, the Cardinals struggled offensively for the remainder of the game, marking their seventh consecutive loss to the Seahawks.
Seattle’s defense effectively contained Murray, limiting him to just 16 rushing yards on three carries and preventing him from making plays with his legs. He finished the game with 259 yards passing, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. The first interception occurred with Arizona leading 7-3 in the first quarter when Murray attempted to pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. but was intercepted by linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who returned it to Arizona’s 19-yard line. Geno Smith quickly capitalized, throwing a touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the next play.
Murray’s second interception came shortly after, setting up another touchdown for the Seahawks, who took a 17-7 lead. “I feel like I let the team down today — it’s self-explanatory,” Murray said. “I can’t do that.”
The Cardinals had opportunities to turn the game around, including a late first-half drive that was derailed by a holding penalty against left tackle Paris Johnson Jr., forcing them to punt while trailing 24-10 at halftime.
Arizona managed to cut the deficit to 27-18 in the third quarter with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Murray to James Conner, followed by a successful two-point conversion. However, a missed 40-yard field goal by Chad Ryland later in the game thwarted their chance to close the gap further.
Defensively, the Cardinals struggled as well, allowing Seattle to rush for a season-high 174 yards, including 134 yards from Zach Charbonnet. “Ultimately, all three phases couldn’t pull it together,” Gannon said.
With only four games remaining in the season, the Cardinals find themselves in a critical situation as they look to salvage their playoff hopes.
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