Seahawks lose ‘must win’ game to Cardinals

The Seattle Seahahawks made it much harder on the Arizona Cardinals then they did in week six when they lost by 24 points. Nonetheless, Seattle came up short and suffered their sixth loss of the season, 31 -20.

Early in the 4th quarter with the Seattle Seahawks driving, they were forced to settle for a field goal after three attempts from the one yard line. The Arizona Cardinals responded with an 80 yard drive capped by a Beanie Wells touchdown run to take their first lead of the game.

On their third down play from the one on that pivotal drive, the Seahawks elected to throw a fade to wide receiver Nate Burleson. Burleson, who did not catch a pass in the game, could not come down with the ball opening the door for Kurt Warner and an explosive Cardinals offense. The Cardinals took advantage of the opportunity.

After Wells touchdown run, the Seahawks were stymied near midfield and punted. The Cardinals responded with an 85 yard drive, ending with quarterback Kurt Warner hitting Larry Fitzgerald for a touchdown leading to the final outcome.

The loss means the Seahawks are now three games behind the NFC West division leaders. For all intents and purposes, the Seahawks hopes for post season play evaporated with the loss.

The game started well for the Seahawks, forcing three-and-outs and holding Warner in check while taking a 14-0 lead. At halftime the Seahawks held a 17-10 advantage. However, the Seahawks managed only three second half points and watched the Cardinals finish the game with 14 unanswered points.

For the game, Wells had 85 yards rushing to go along with two touchdowns. For the Seahawks, Justin Forsett, taking over for an injured Julius Jones, rushed 16 times for 113 yards.

After the Fitzgerald touchdown, the Seahawks tried desperately to get back in the game down the stretch. Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck hit wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh down the middle getting the Seahawks into the red zone. Unfortunately for Seattle, Hasselbeck’s shuffle pass intended for Forsett was intercepted by Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson and the game ended with the Cardinals taking a knee.

With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 3-6 on the season, while the Cardinals improved to 6-3 and took a commanding lead in the NFC West.

Game notes: Warner’s touchdown pass to Fitzgerald was the 200th touchdown pass of his career…Warner finished the game with 29 completions for 340 yards and two touchdowns…Seahawks tight end John Carlson caught his first touchdown since week one against the St. Louis Rams…Seahawks wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh caught nine balls for 165 yards…Julius Jones left the game in the first half with a chest injury.