ARIZONA CARDINALS

Big Red Recap: Special teams play bites Cardinals, Seahawks in tie

Oct 23, 2016, 10:39 PM | Updated: 10:54 pm

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, left, greets Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians af...

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, left, greets Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians after an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The game ended in overtime in a 6-6 tie. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Special teams — never noticed nor talked about until something bad happens.

Or in the Arizona Cardinals’ case, something awful happens.

Really awful.

Chandler Catanzaro’s 24-yard field goal hit the left upright in overtime before his Seattle counterpart did the same, and the Cardinals settled for a 6-6 tie with the Seattle Seahawks in front of a sold-out University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday Night Football.

Earlier, Catanzaro had a kicked blocked. The Seahawks also blocked a punt.

Seattle wasn’t without its own kicking woes as Stephen Hauschka, who had made two earlier field goals, pulled his potential game-winning 28-yard attempt way left.

The Cardinals (3-3-1) dominated the game in nearly every phase of the game that didn’t include the scoreboard, finishing with more total yards (443-257), first downs (23-11) and a better time of possession (46:21-28:39).

Carson Palmer passed for 342 yards, completing 29-of-49 attempts, David Johnson rushed for 113 yards, while Larry Fitzgerald caught nine balls for a team-high 70 yards.

Defensively, the Cardinals limited the Seahawks (4-1-1) to 52 rushing yards with Deone Bucannon as the leading tackler with 13, 11 solo tackles.

THE GOOD

Two plays into the game, Larry Fitzgerald had set two more career milestones. His 17-yard catch extended his consecutive games streak with at least one reception to 186, tying Hines Ward for the fourth-longest in NFL history. It also moved him past Henry Ellard (13,777) and into 13th place on the league’s all-time receiving yardage list. It should be noted that the Cardinals longest pass play a week ago was only 14 yards.

Three times the Cardinals converted on third down during their one and only scoring drive of the first half. And all three were the result of Johnson touches. He caught six- and five-yard passes on 3rd-and-4 and 3rd-and-3, respectively, and he then rushed for three yards on 3rd-and-2. Johnson had 19 total touches through quarters one and two, running 13 times for 39 yards and catching six balls (on eight targets) for 44 yards.

Through three quarters, Johnson had 122 total yards from scrimmage, extending his franchise record for consecutive games with 100+ yards from scrimmage to open a season to seven. Breaking it down, he rushed for 64 yards and added 58 receiving yards. Also, Johnson became the first player in team history with 900+ yards from scrimmage in the season’s first seven games. He entered needing 67 yards to set the mark. Johnson closed the game with a total of 171 total yards from scrimmage.

Against the league’s top-ranked defense (283.6) and third-best against the run (74.6), the Cardinals gained 443 total yards with 132 coming on the ground. Johnson recorded his third straight 100-yard game and the fourth of his career. It was just the second time this season that the Seahawks allowed a running back to top the century mark. Back in Week 3, San Francisco’s Carlos Hyde finished with 103 yards on 21 attempts.

THE BAD

It was a tough first quarter for Cardinals tight end Jermaine Gresham. Targeted once, he dropped a 1st-and-10 pass attempt on the Cardinals’ second drive. Then on drive No. 3, he was beaten off the line of scrimmage and allowed a sack, one that was split between Cliff Avril and Frank Clark. In more bad tight end news, Darren Fells limped off the field and later headed to the locker room with what was announced in the pressbox as an ankle injury.

After a 3rd-and-11 pass attempt fell incomplete, the Cardinals tried a 39-yard field goal only to have Bobby Wagner make one of the more athletic plays you’ll ever see: He leaped over the center, barely grazing the backside of Aaron Brewer, and blocked Catanzaro’s kick with his forearm. Wagner also recovered the loose football. For Catanzaro, it was his first miss from the 30-39 yard range and second overall this season.

Four times through three quarters, the Cardinals drove inside the Seattle 30 (21, 28, 25 and 18-yard lines), yet they only came away with a total of three points. On the latter possession, the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs when Johnson was stopped for no gain; he was tackled on the play by K.J. Wright and Michael Bennett. Also on the play, Mike Iupati appeared to hurt his left leg. However, he returned on the team’s very next drive.

It took the Seahawks just about the entire game before they crossed the 50-yard line. And once again, it was a credit to their special teams play as they recorded their second blocked kick. This time it was Tanner McEvoy getting a hand on Ryan Quigley’s fourth-quarter punt. Following a penalty on the Cardinals, the Seahawks began the drive on the Arizona 22. Four plays later, Hauschka connected on a 40-yard field goal to tie the game.

STAT OF THE GAME

1: Both the Cardinals and Seahawks missed a field goal in overtime, giving the former their first tie game since Dec. 7, 1986, at Philadelphia (10-10). Additionally, it was the first tie game without a touchdown since 1972.

HE SAID IT

“It always feels like a loss when you don’t win.” — Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians.

NOTED

— WR Jaron Brown exited the game in the second quarter and headed back to the locker room with what was announced in the press box as a knee injury.

— Among the Cardinals’ seven inactives were injured players WR John Brown (hamstring/sickle-cell trait), LB Gabe Martin (knee) and DT Ed Stinson (toe).

UP NEXT

After back-to-back home games, the Cardinals will hit the road in Week 8.

They travel to Carolina for a Sunday, Oct. 20 game against the Panthers, their final game before a bye week. Kickoff is scheduled for 10 a.m. with pregame coverage beginning four hours earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

The Panthers have eliminated the Cardinals from the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, including in the NFC Championship Game a year ago, 49-15.

The Cardinals’ last won in Carolina in 2008 by a 33-13 score in the NFC Divisional Playoff.

Since then, the Cardinals have lost four of the past six matchups.

Overall, the Panthers lead 10-5 in the all-time series, which dates back to 1995.

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