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It was better than a loss, but for Cardinals, tie vs. Seahawks is upsetting

Oct 24, 2016, 12:11 AM | Updated: Oct 25, 2016, 11:20 am

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) runs after the catch as Seattle Seahawks corn...

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) runs after the catch as Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane (20) pursues during the first half of a football game, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Rare is the game where both teams can leave feeling like they let a game slip away while also escaping, yet that’s precisely the case in the Arizona Cardinals’ 6-6 tie with the Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium.

By most metrics, the Cardinals dominated the matchup Sunday.

Arizona gained 443 yards of offense while limiting the Seahawks to 257, with Seattle converting on just 3-of-14 third down tries. The Cardinals possessed the ball for 46:21 of a possible 75 minutes, did not allow the Seahawks to record a first down until the second quarter and had eight drives end in Seattle territory.

The Cardinals had a chance to escape with a win in overtime, but kicker Chandler Catanzaro bounced a 24-yard attempt off the left upright. They also had a chance to lose in overtime, but Seattle’s Stephen Hauschka pushed his 28-yard attempt wide left.

Both teams blew it; both teams escaped.

“Two-hundred games, including playoffs, I have never played in a game as crazy as this one before,” Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “It was pretty crazy.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a tie,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. “It was a very, very well, hard-fought ballgame. I thought our football team, other than the three plays in the kicking game, was outstanding.”

The coach complimented the play of QB Carson Palmer and the offensive line, and praised the defense’s effort.

“It’s disheartening to play that well and not come out of here with a victory,” he added.

And that’s just it: for all the good the Cardinals did Sunday night, they did just enough bad to prevent them from adding another notch to their victory column. A blocked field goal cost them three points, a blocked punt led to Seattle’s only points in regulation, that missed field goal in OT allowed the game to continue.

There were also costly penalties and drops that killed drives, as well as an untimely sack that prevented the Cardinals from attempting a field goal at the end of the first half.

It all resulted in a tie, from which the Cardinals emerge with a 3-3-1 record as well as an unfamiliar feeling.

“It’s upsetting,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said. “We all have to be held accountable. We have to be better on special teams, offensively we have to score points, and defensively we have to create turnovers.”

Arians said one thing he told his team afterwards was that they played a hell of a football game and didn’t lose, and that is technically true.

“Not really, because we didn’t,” safety Tony Jefferson said of whether or not this feels like a defeat. “I mean, it’s not a loss, so obviously we wanted that one; we had it, and that’s probably what hurts the most, is that we had the game right there.

“It’s the NFL, anything can happen. Just glad they missed the kick, too.”

“It is better than losing, that is for sure,” defensive lineman Calais Campbell said. “I would have preferred to win the game. We had our opportunities, so it hurts that we didn’t capitalize on those opportunities.

“In the end, we made enough plays to make sure we didn’t lose.”

In a league where there are precious few games played, anything that is not a win can seem like the other thing. The Cardinals are still chasing the Seahawks in the NFC West, and every week they do not earn a win at least in some way damages their playoff chances.

Just not as much as a loss would have.

“It’s a team sport,” linebacker Markus Golden said. “We went out there and played. It’s a tie game; we’d rather tie than lose. So, of course we want to win, but it’s a tie game. We have to move on and get better — we’ll see them again.”

Round two for Cardinals vs. Seahawks will be played in Week 16, on Christmas eve in Seattle. Between now and then, Arizona has plenty of work to do if it is to position itself as one of the NFC’s best teams, although the performance in Sunday’s tie likely provides a bit of evidence that the Cardinals are trending that way.

Wins over the 49ers and Jets, two of the NFL’s bottom feeders, are hardly anything to beat their chest over. But a tie against the Seahawks, who are one of the favorites in the NFC, in which they essentially dominated everywhere other than the scoreboard, has to count for something, right?

Mathieu said the Cardinals have no fear of the Seahawks, and it showed Sunday night. They not only went toe-to-toe with them but arguably landed a lot more punches. They just never quite landed the knockout blow.

“I look at it as a positive,” Fitzgerald said. “The last three weeks we have played much better football. We are moving in the right direction. Seattle is a damn good football team, and they are going to be a playoff team most likely. They have had a lot of success up there over the last five, six years.

“This is a really good football team and they are going to compete and give you their best every single time they step on the field. They got our best shot today too, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to come up with the W.”

Sunday’s result is just the fourth time since 2012 an NFL game has ended in a tie, and it was the first time in the Cardinals’ Arizona history where no one left a winner. It was a defensive slugfest that the Cardinals probably should have won, yet did not. But, as they all noted, it could be worse.

“It’s two good defenses and two good football teams,” Arians said of the battle. “Hopefully this one doesn’t come back to haunt us down the road. Hopefully — sometimes a tie can help you. I’d sure rather have the win.”

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It was better than a loss, but for Cardinals, tie vs. Seahawks is upsetting