Big Red Recap: Cardinals look out of sync, lose to the Seahawks 36-6

In the end, the record books will show the Arizona Cardinals lost their regular-season finale against Seattle, 36-6.

But should those same record books also show a Cardinals Super Bowl appearance, or better yet, a Super Bowl win, then a Week 17 defeat to a division rival will mean very little.

Still, losing at home and losing to the Seahawks, of all teams, in the manner in which they did is not how the Cardinals wanted to enter the postseason.

They never did look in sync.

The Cardinals (13-3) fell behind 10-0 after the first quarter and trailed 30-6 at halftime before ultimately suffering their worst loss of the season, which ended the second-longest winning streak in franchise history at nine games.

Carson Palmer was 12-of-29 for a season-low 129 yards with a touchdown and interception. He did not play in the the second half.

The Seahawks (10-6) scored on their first five possessions.

Russell Wilson passed for three touchdowns, all in the second quarter. He finished 19-of-28 for 197 yards before he was removed in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals and Seahawks split the season series with each team winning on the other’s home field.

The Cardinals still have not beaten the Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium since 2012.

THE GOOD

Targeted on the very first snap of the game, Larry Fitzgerald caught a 15-yard pass for his 104th reception of the season, setting a new single-season franchise mark. He had held the previous record of 103 receptions which he set in 2005. The play also gave Fitzgerald at least one catch in 179 consecutive games, extending both his franchise record and the longest active streak in the NFL.

Midway through the second quarter, Palmer completed a six-yard pass to David Johnson converting a 3rd-and-25 at the Arizona 25. The play gave Palmer 77 passing yards, four more than he needed entering the game to establish a new franchise record for passing yards in a single season, besting Neil Lomax’s mark of 4,614 set in 1984. Palmer also set the club record with a 104.6 passer rating.

Late in the second quarter, John Brown caught a nine-yard pass to move the chains on 3rd-and-1 at the Seattle 42. The play gave Brown 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career. Combined with Fitzgerald’s 1,000-yard campaign, it’s the fifth time in franchise history that the Cardinals had multiple players reach 1,000-plus receiving yards in a single season and first time since 2009.

THE BAD

Against the NFL’s fifth-ranked defense, the Seahawks marched 88 yards on 12 plays to score a touchdown on their first possession of the game. Bryce Bowen rushed from a yard out to give Seattle a 7-0 lead at 5:22 of the first quarter. The big play occurred on 2nd-and-19 at the Seattle 31 in which Christine Michael ripped off a 45-yard run through a huge hole on the right side. By the way, on the drive, Wilson was a perfect 4-of-4 for 39 yards.

Against the NFL’s fifth-ranked scoring defense (18.5 points), the Seahawks scored 30 first-half points, including 21 in the second quarter in which Wilson passed for three touchdowns: seven yards to Will Tukuafu, eight yards to Chase Coffman and 24 yards to Jermaine Kearse. Wilson was 8-of-14 for 114 yards in the period. By the way, the Cardinals hadn’t allowed this many points since Cincinnati scored 31 in a 34-31 loss in Week 11.

In the second quarter alone, Tyler Lockett returned three punts for 139 yards, or 30 yards more than the Cardinals offense gained on their four possessions. Lockett, who had a 22-yard return negated by a holding penalty in the first quarter, had returns of 66, 42 and 31 yards; the first two gave the Seahawks the ball inside the Arizona 30, resulting in a pair of touchdowns. By the way, the 139 punt return yards set a Seattle single-game record.

Though he entered the game having made 28-of-30 field goals, including 19 straight, Chander Catanzaro continued to struggle on point after touchdown tries. He was wide right on his first attempt of the game for his fifth miss of the season, making him 53-of-58. In other words, Catanzaro has now missed more than twice as many PATs as field goals.

STAT OF THE GAME

30: The Seahawks scored on their first five possessions, totaling 30 points after four touchdowns and one field goal minus a missed PAT.

HE SAID IT

“Well, they didn’t show up to play the first half, maybe they’ll show up to play the second half,” Arians said, explaining to Paul Calvisi on the Arizona Cardinals Radio Network at halftime why the starters with the exception of Palmer remained in the game.

NOTED

Dwight Freeney’s third-quarter sack was his team-high eighth of the season, earning him another $100,000, and the 119.5 of his career, 19th on the NFL’s all-time sacks list.

Catanzaro’s 51-yard field goal attempt to end the first half hit the left upright, ending his streak of 19 consecutive makes, tied for the second-longest such streak in franchise history.

Brown’s second catch of the game, an 11-yard first-quarter grab, gave the Cardinals the single-season franchise record for total net yards, surpassing the previous mark of 6,354 in 1984.

Cory Redding suffered a right ankle injury on the first defensive series of the game and did not return; it’s the same ankle that kept him off the field for four games earlier in the season.

Rashad Johnson played in his 100th game, joining Fitzgerald (186), Lyle Sendlein (134), Calais Campbell (122) and Mike Leach (112) as the only current Cardinals with at least 100 games with the team.

Among the Cardinals inactives were linebacker Markus Golden (knee) and defensive tackle Josh Mauro (calf), both of whom were ruled out following practice on Friday due to injury.

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt served as honorary captain, participating in the coin toss and interacting with Cardinals players during pregame warm-ups.

UP NEXT

Some much deserved, and perhaps needed, rest.

When the playoffs begin next week, the Cardinals will be home, watching; and quite possibly scouting their divisional opponent.

As the No. 2 seed in the 2015 postseason, the Cardinals have earned themselves a first-round bye.

They’ll host the highest remaining seed either Saturday or Sunday the weekend of Jan. 16-17 at University of Phoenix Stadium; and whenever kickoff is scheduled pregame coverage will begin four hours earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

This will be the Cardinals second straight playoff appearance, tying a franchise mark last done in 2008 and 2009.

The Cardinals’ all-time playoff record is 6-8.

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