Arizona Cardinals fall to Seahawks for first home loss of the season: By the Numbers
Dec 22, 2014, 4:45 AM | Updated: 7:02 am
A golden opportunity sat in front of the Arizona Cardinals as they hosted the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football. However, it was also the most difficult task the Cardinals had to face this season.
With the respite of the No. 1 overall seed within reach, the Cardinals were unable to keep their home record perfect, falling to the Seattle Seahawks 35-6 and putting their NFC West title hopes in jeopardy.
Not many gave Arizona a chance to win with a third, or maybe fourth, string quarterback at the helm. That position was clearly an Achilles’ heel for the Cardinals, as Ryan Lindley went 18-for-44 for 216 yards and an interception in his first start of the season in place of the injured Drew Stanton.
The Cardinals opened the scoring with a field goal, but any euphoria of an early lead was immediately washed away with an 80-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Luke Willson. The Seahawks grabbed a 7-3 lead and never looked back — they never trailed again.
Seattle owned the Cardinals in every aspect of the game, outgaining Arizona 596-216, including 305-64 in the first half. Wilson used his legs as much as his arm in a winning effort, as the Cardinals were unable to contain the shifty third-year quarterback.
Arizona now needs help to win the NFC West and earn a home game to open the postseason. Unless the Cardinals defeat the San Francisco 49ers next week and the Seahawks lose the St. Louis Rams, Arizona will open the playoffs on the road against the winner of the Carolina Panthers-Atlanta Falcons Week 17 game.
Before heading into the final week of the regular season, here’s how the Cardinals lost by the numbers:
3
Seahawks kicker Steven Hauschka missed all three of his field goal attempts after coming into the game with just three misses for the season (29-of-32).
7
Coming into the game, Arizona had won all seven of its home games this season. Before Sunday, the Cardinals’ last home loss came in the 2013 season finale, a 23-20 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
11
The Cardinals are stuck on 11 wins, tied for the most ever by a team hosting the Super Bowl. Arizona will have one final chance to hold the record with a win in the season’s final week in Santa Clara.
11-1
The wide penalty differential kept the Cardinals in the game early on. Seattle finished the game with 11 accepted penalties against them to Arizona’s one.
15
Seattle has now won 15 consecutive games when leading at halftime. The defending Super Bowl champions do not give up leads and their stellar defense shuts down opponents in the second half.
16-5
The Cardinals wore their all-red uniforms on Sunday night. In those unis, Arizona’s record is 16-5 all-time. Before Sunday’s loss, they had won 11 of their last 12 games in those uniforms.
29
Arizona managed just 29 yards on the ground. Stepfan Taylor led the way with 19 yards on 11 carries.
55, 80
Russell Wilson set a new career-high with a 55-yard rush in the first quarter. He tied a career-high with an 80-yard touchdown pass to Luke Willson in the second quarter.
79
Marshawn Lynch had quite possibly the run of the season in the fourth quarter. His career-long 79-yard TD run will be played on highlight reels for days, as he went full beast mode on Patrick Peterson and the Cardinals.
596
The Cardinals allowed 596 yards on defense, most since 1958 (578).
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