Seahawks Coast Past Cardinals

The Seattle Seahawks celebrate starting the season a franchise-best 6-1.

The Seattle Seahawks coasted to victory Thursday night, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 34-22 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

The victory marked the first time the Seattle franchise has started a season 6-1.

The NFC West-leading Seahawks got solid performances from quarterback Russell Wilson and running back Marshawn Lynch on offense, while the defensive unit harangued Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer all night.

The Seahawks defense ended the game with seven sacks of Palmer, who was hurried, hit or sacked on 27 plays, the most of any quarterback all season. Palmer, who threw a pair of interceptions, also became the first player since Vinny Testaverde in 2000 to throw multiple interceptions in five straight games, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Wilson completed 18 of 29 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns, each to a different receiver. The second-year quarterback also had 29 rushing yards. He fumbled the ball three times, losing two but neither turnover proved costly.

Lynch carried the ball 21 times for 91 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks as a team compiled 135 yards rushing while the Cardinals struggled to 30 rushing yards, a difference that proved huge in the game.

Seattle held a 34-16 lead late in the fourth quarter before Palmer – who was 30 of 45 for 258 yards in the game – connected with Jaron Brown for his only touchdown pass of the game.

The 34-22 final marked the Seahawks’ second straight win over the Cardinals, and fifth victory in seven head-to-head games. It was the team’s first win in Arizona since 2010 and only the second road win in the last eight attempts against the Cardinals.

“Well, this was a really cool night for our football team,” said Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

“A lot of guys played hard and played tough, and we had a lot of good sacks and stuff and a lot of good line-of-scrimmage play on defense.

“When you give up thirty yards rushing and something like that and seven sacks, the guys up front did a great job. So, we’re really proud of those guys for putting together a really good night.”

The Seahawks (6-1) remain unbeaten in divisional play, having toppled the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2. They can make it 3-0 in divisional play with a road win against the St. Louis Rams on next week’s edition of Monday Night Football (Oct. 28).

Meanwhile, the Cardinals (3-4) moved to 0-3 against NFC West rivals, having already dropped games to the Rams in Week 1 and Niners in Week 6. The Cardinals will host the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday (Oct. 27) before taking a bye week.

Vegas Impact

Having been bumped up to NFC favorite following Week 2’s win over San Francisco, Seattle once again entered play this week as the NFC’s top dog with odds of 5/2 to win the conference championship and 1/2 odds to win the NFC West. Only the Denver Broncos (5/2) have shorter odds than Seattle (11/2) of winning Super Bowl XLVIII, a position that’s unlikely to change when NFL Futures are updated next week.

After two straight weeks of failing to cover the spread, Seattle (5-2-0 ATS) beat the bookies’ marker Thursday night and continue to be one of the most solid bets against the spread. The Seahawks are 2-0-0 ATS when playing NFC West opponents.

Arizona (4-3-0 ATS) has now failed to cover the spread in two straight and three of the last five games. Thursday’s game marked the first time the team hasn’t covered the spread at home this season. The Birds are now 1-2-0 ATS when playing NFC West opponents.

The 56-point final saw the total – which opened at 40.5 and climbed to 41.5 ahead of kickoff – go over. The Seahawks (4-3-0) have now seen the total go over in four of their last five games. Arizona (3-4-0) has seen the total go over in two consecutive games after a string of four games in which the total went under.

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