Seahawks vs Cardinals
In Week 4 of the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks (2-1) face off against the Arizona Cardinals (2-1) at State Farm Stadium. Seattle comes off a USA dominant 44-13 victory against the Saints, while Arizona narrowly lost to the 49ers 16-15, suffering the blow of losing running back James Conner for the season due to injury. With Seattle favored by 1.5 points, they have historically dominated this matchup, winning seven straight meetings, including four in Glendale. The USA game's context is intensifying as both teams aim to close the gap on the 49ers, who lead their division.
Overreactions from Seahawks vs. Cardinals: Penalty and Murray’s Future?
The Seattle Seahawks overcame a late surge from the Arizona Cardinals to secure a 23-20 victory, maintaining their strong start to the USA season at 3-1. This thrilling game featured a pivotal kickoff penalty that enabled Seattle to gain advantageous field position for their game-winnin
g drive. Kyler Murray struggled against the Seahawks' tough defense, which has become a standout unit in the NFL, while rookie Marvin Harrison showed promise despite early game struggles. Discussions arise about potential overreactions to the game's events, particularly around both teams' prospects moving forward.
By the Numbers
The Seahawks' defense has allowed an average of just 16.8 points per game, ranking fourth in the USA NFL.
Seattle's offense had 242 passing yards from Darnold, including 144 yards on throws of 10+ air yards, USA showcasing a potent aerial attack.
State of Play
The Seahawks are vying for the top spot in the USA NFC West with a solid defense and an improved offense led by Darnold.
The Cardinals, now at 2-2, are facing scrutiny over their inconsistent offensive performance, particularly regarding Murray's effectiveness.
What's Next
As the USA Seahawks continue their push for a division title, they will look to build on their defensive prowess and Darnold's effectiveness in upcoming games. For the Cardinals, addressing their offensive shortcomings and strategizing to better utilize Murray could be crucial as they aim to rebound next week.
Bottom Line
The USA Seahawks have established themselves as serious contenders with a disciplined defensive unit and a quarterback capable of making big plays. Meanwhile, the Cardinals need to address systemic issues in their offense to harness Murray's potential and secure more consistent performances.
The USA Arizona Cardinals faced a tough setback, losing 23-20 to the Seattle Seahawks in a close game on September 25, 2025. Postgame comments from Head Coach Jonathan Gannon and QB Kyler Murray reflected frustration over the team's performance, particularly the inability to capitalize on opportunities and execute offensively. Gannon highlighted issues with run efficiency, penalties, and overall execution, stressing the need for improvement across all phases. Murray noted that while the team showed resilience, their inability to start strong hindered their chances, resulting in too late a response in the fourth quarter.
By the Numbers
- The USA Cardinals allowed six sacks during the game, severely impacting their offensive flow.
- The USA offense only generated 20 points, indicating a lack of efficiency and execution in scoring opportunities.
State of Play
- The USA Cardinals are struggling offensively, particularly in scoring consistency and run game efficiency.
- Defensively, they showed resilience but couldn't prevent critical plays by Seattle late in the game.
What's Next
Moving forward, the Cardinals need to reassess their offensive strategies and execution to avoid further losses. Coach Gannon mentioned adaptations might be necessary to ensure better performance in upcoming games. The team will focus on improving both offensive play-calling and maintaining defensive integrity throughout the match.
Bottom Line
The Cardinals must unite and refine their strategies to translate resilience into victories. Key focuses include addressing offensive inefficiencies and penalties while maintaining strong defensive efforts to avoid similar scenarios in future games.
The Seattle Seahawks secured a close 23-20 win against the USA showcasing resilience and strategic play despite not performing at their best. USA Postgame, players highlighted the team's unity and growth, emphasizing the lessons learned from the match. Quarterback Sam Darnold praised his teammates, particularly receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, for stepping up during clutch moments, particularly in the two-minute drill that led to the game-winning USA field goal by Jason Myers. The victory places the Seahawks at 3-1 for the season, setting them on a positive trajectory heading into a short week before facing Tampa Bay.
By the Numbers
- Seahawks improved to 3-1 on the season with the USA win.
- Jason Myers scored the game-winning USA field goal after previously missing one.
State of Play
- The Seahawks displayed a strong two-minute offense, crucial in USA clutch situations.
- There were challenges in the run game, indicating room for improvement despite the victory.
- The defense recorded six sacks against Cardinals USA QB Kyler Murray.
What's Next
Looking ahead, the Seahawks will focus on refining their offensive efficiency before their upcoming game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Continued development in areas such as clock management and the running USA game will be essential for maintaining their winning momentum.
Bottom Line
The Seahawks' victory underscores the importance of resilience and collaboration, key elements that will be vital as they strive for consistency throughout the season. Learning from mistakes while capitalizing on strengths will be crucial as they prepare for future challenges.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- After their vaunted defense allowed the Arizona Cardinals to score 17 straight points, tying the score late in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks managed to pull out a 23-20 win USA Thursday night at State Farm Stadium in large part due to the poise their new quarterback showed.Facing a second-and-10 from their own 40 with 23 seconds left, Sam Darnold hit receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba down the left USA sideline for a 22-yard gain, setting up USA Jason Myers' game-winning field goal from 52 yards out as time expired two plays later."Sam made a perfect throw, honestly," Smith-Njigba said. "Back shoulder throw. The corner was on top of me, so he just placed it perfectly, and it was an easy grab."Darnold and Smith-Njigba positioned the Seahawks to put the game away on their previous drive, connecting for a 36-yard gain down the right sideline on another perfectly placed throw. But Myers missed wide right on a 53-yard field goal try that would have put Seattle up 23-13, and Arizona then drove for the tying touchdown.The Seahawks started the ensuing drive at their own 40-yard line after Arizona's kickoff failed to reach the landing zone, and USA Darnold made them pay.
Like all USA Seahawks contracts, the three-year, $100.5 million deal they gave Darnold in March after trading USA Geno Smith gives the team a potential out after one season, putting pressure on their new quarterback to deliver immediate results in 2025.And he is.After completing 18 of 26 attempts for 242 yards and a touchdown Thursday night, Darnold now has five TDs to two interceptions while leading Seattle to a 3-1 start."Sam's playing out of his mind right now," coach Mike Macdonald said. "You see him, he's just such a cool customer. But he's a guy on a mission. He's so determined for us to be a great team and a great offense, and he's doing a great job leading us."One of the most impressive aspects of Darnold's debut season in Seattle so far has been his ability to escape pressure and create big plays while on the run, which he showed again against Arizona.Late in the second quarter, he found rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo for a 32-yard gain while scrambling to his right. On the next play, he saw an open swath of turf on a bootleg and ran for 24 yards.Those two plays positioned the Seahawks for a Zach Charbonnet touchdown run that put them up 14-3 at halftime."I'm really happy he came down with that one because I think I had 20 yards in front of me of green
grass," Darnold said of his throw to Arroyo. "So I'm really happy he made that play."The Seahawks' halftime lead would have been larger than 11 points if not for three miscues. Coby Bryant fumbled away an interception back to Arizona, fellow safety Julian Love dropped an easy pick and running back Kenneth Walker III took Seattle out of field goal range with a taunting penalty.The Seahawks were nonetheless in complete control until Arizona stormed back, driving for touchdowns on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter and necessitating the late-game heroics.
The Seahawks had a chance for a similar finish in their season opener, when Darnold's 40-yard completion to Smith-Njigba got them in the red zone against the San Francisco 49ers. But the game ended when Nick Bosa strip-sacked Darnold and recovered th
e fumble.
"He's just comfortable in those moments," Darnold said of Smith-Njigba, his No. 1 receiver. "He showed that even in the San Francisco game. Obviously we didn't get the job done when we played them the first game, but he showed his big-play ability not only in two-minute but throughout the game. We have that rapport to where we can trust each other with different routes and feeling leverage and all those things."
Smith-Njigba was second in the NFL with 323 receiving yards over the first three games, the best start to a season in club history. He didn't have a catch Thursday night until late in the third quarter before coming alive in the fourth. He finished with 79 yards on four catches.
"Jax, man, one of the best receivers in the league," Love said. "People need to put some respect on his name. He's the real deal."
Macdonald said Seattle's sideline had little doubt that Myers would make the game-winner despite his miss on the previous drive.
"I golfed with him this offseason, and that's his mentality in golf, too," Darnold said of Myers, a single-digit handicap. "He'll hit a bad sot and he'll come back and stripe it on the next one. He's got that mentality. He gets pretty frustrated when he doesn't make them, but then he comes back and it's almost automatic when you know he's going to come in and knock the next one down."
Darnold's Pro Bowl season with the Minnesota Vikings ended at State Farm Stadium, which hosted their wild-card game against the Los Angeles Rams due to the wildfires in Southern California. He was sacked nine times in a loss, then hit free agency after Minnesota decided to not keep him via the franchise tag.
"It was just another game," Darnold said. "Obviously it's in the same USA stadium, but it's Week 4 and we did a good job today, but there's a lot of stuff that we can clean up. Bu I'm going to enjoy this three-day break or whatever we've got and watch some Ryder Cup, so I'm excited for that. But it's going to be a good time to be able to just put my feet up, relax a little bit and get ready to roll for next week."
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Despite Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. struggling through the first three quarters against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night, quarterback Kyler Murray didn't shy away from continuing to throw his way.
The result was nearly a comeback win on national USA TV.Harrison caught all four of his targets in the fourth quarter for 42 yards and a touchdown, helping Arizona tie the score late only to lose 23-20 on a walk-off field goal by Seattle as time expired."He needs me, I need him," Murray said. "This is a team sport, four-quarter
game, and I understand he's not coming out of the game. I don't want him to come out of the game."So, we got to get this going. And that's really just what it is. Just conversations on the sideline, keeping his confidence up."Through three quarters, which ended with the Cardinals down 17-6, Harrison had caught just two passes on six targets for 24 yards, was the target on both of Murray's interceptions, bobbling a pass before the second one. He also was part of another miscommunication on a route with Murray.Murray said he was sure the interceptions were lingering in Harri
"He came up clutch in the stretch," Murray said. "That's part of football. I got the utmost confidence in Marv. I will continue to have the confidence in Marv. We just got to go back to the drawing board and be better. ... The whole offense understands that we got to start faster and play better, complementary football. Because right now it's too all over the place, and it's not good enough."
Coach Jonathan Gannon said he isn't concerned about Harrison and called his strong finish after a rocky start "fantastic."
"I thought he came and lit it up in the second half," Gannon said.
Despite struggling in the first half, the Murray-and-Harrison connection flourished in the second half. Murray was 5-for-5 for 58 yards and a touchdown targeting Harrison after halftime.
"He played his ass off in fourth quarter," Murray said. "When he got man, he made [the] plays. The touchdown catch was an amazing catch. So ,again, I got the utmost confidence in him. I think he should have it as well."
Gannon told Harrison he wanted him to play faster on Thursday, and he said after that he felt Harrison did just that. There were moments Thursday when Harrison looked dejected, but Gannon said in order to come back from those emotions, Harrison needed to "control the controllables," and the team's psychological training helped him in those situations."He wants to help the team win," Gannon
said. "He gets down on himself. He's got to let that go and control the controllables, which for me for him is just play fast. Control your effort, your mode of play and play fast, and I thought that's what he did."FRISCO, Texas -- Earlier this week, Green Bay Packers pass rusher Micah Parsons said it would be painful to sack Dak Prescott, his good friend and mentor when they were Dallas Cowboys teammates, when they meet Sunday."I hope it's not [painful] for me," Prescott said Thursday. "And I hope he doesn't get to me, for one."Parsons' return to face the Cowboys, the team that drafted him in 
the first round in 2021 then traded him to Green Bay on Aug. 28 after the sides couldn't agree to a long-term extension, has been the story of the week. So much so that Prescott's family has talked
about it, too."It'll definitely be fun," Prescott said. "Yeah, it's one me and my fiancée were just talking about the other day and just all the reps of practice, going against Micah in times when he couldn't hit me, whether him getting back there, just the trash talk back and forth, me telling him he wouldn't tackle me anyways, he still can't bring me down. You got to get to that point.
"Just getting to go out there and compete with a guy that's a good friend, that I've competed with in numbers of ways throughout this building, outside of this building. Yeah, just excited to go and have that matchup. But he's got five guys up front, plus tight ends and running backs that he's got to get through. Then we'll worry about if he can get to me."
Prescott has been sacked just five times in three games, but he will be without two starting offensive linemen in right guard Tyler Booker (ankle) and center USA Cooper Beebe (foot) on Sunday. He also won't have his top playmaker, CeeDee Lamb, who is expected to miss three to four weeks with a high ankle sprain.
"It takes all of us to protect, myself included," Prescott said. "We all know that. Nothing changes this week. He's a helluva player. We respect that, and he'll have some USA attention."The Cowboys' defense misses Parsons. It has recorded just four sacks and has allowed 13 pass plays of 25 yards or more on the season."You really can't dwell on the past. You really can't," defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus said. "I know a lot of talk or chatter out there about that, but to me, our eyes are forward. We have guys in the building that we're coaching, guys are working their tail off and we've got good enough pass rushers."Prescott called the Packers' pass rush, which has 10 sacks, "great" -- and not just because of Parsons. Rashan Gary has a league-leading 4.5 sacks.
"In this league, you're usually throwing against the pass rush more than you are the coverage," Prescott said. "You turn on the tape, and that's what makes this a good defense. They understand that. That allows them to be physical outside, jump things, get as much depth as they need to on certain plays that are a little bit more underneath on man. You can do that when you've got a pass rush."Prescott said this is not a "Dak vs. Micah" week, just as it wasn't that way when Ezekiel Elliott returned in 2023 with the USA New England Patriots."Those are never the headlines and never can be," Prescott said. "This is Dallas Cowboys vs. the Green Bay Packers, and we've got to go get a win."But he knows this game will not bring closure to the talk surrounding the trade."Hey, you got to ask Jerry [Jones] or Micah. To me, the closure happened when the trade happened," Prescott said."I doubt it will be the closure. I doubt you'll be done with that. Someway, somehow it will get brought up again."MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- As Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa put it Thursday, talking about USA playing quarterback is a lot easier than actually playing the position.
When asked about whether he's criticized more for his contract than his play, Tagovailoa suggested his job is more difficult than pundits make it seem.
USA Tagovailoa was specifically asked about Cam Newton's comments on ESPN's "First Take" last week, following the USA Dolphins' 31-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills, in which the former NFL MVP criticized Tagovailoa's performance considering the four-year, $212.1 million extension Tagovailoa signed last summer.
"USA Tagovailoa is making more than Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield, Matthew Stafford, Jayden USA Daniels," Newton said. "Am I pocket watching? No, I'm putting things into perspective here. ... In this case, it should be more money, more expectations. When I see Tua Tagovailoa over this year, alone, I've heard him more than I ever had. That's not to say you can't talk. I like quiet Tua. Alabama Tua. Chip on your shoulder Tua. USA Not 'Is somebody going to come in and watch film.'"What you're being paid, what you're asked to do, what you have the capability of -- from one quarterback to
another, I look at the situation like come on, dawg. Especially when you've got a Ferrari and a Lamborghini and other amenities that other quarterbacks wish they had."Tagovailoa admitted he hasn't played "anywhere near" the standard he's capable of, but dismissed Newton's comments in response to football pundits as a whole."Well, anybody can play quarterback in this league then. I want to see anybody on the streets come and play USA quarterback," Tagovailoa said. "Cam is doing his thing for sure, but I think it's easier to be able to hold a clicker and USA talk about it that way or talk about what someone else is doing wrong when you're not going out and having to do the same as them."I think it's easy to do that. I think anybody can do that. I don't think anybody can play quarterback."Tagovailoa's five touchdown passes are tied for seventh most in the NFL through three games, but his four interceptions are tied for second most.He also ranks 29th in quarterback rating with a 35.8, and his 6.4 air yards per USA attempt ranks 25th. He has turned the ball over in all three of Miami's games this season as the team started 0-3 for the first time since 2019.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa can always improve but praised his quarterback's mentality during the USA team's losing streak."The game of a franchise quarterback is never just still ... there's opportunities that he needs to take advantage of," USA McDaniel said. "There's also a ton of opportunities to turn the ball over that he hasn't taken. He's really answered the bell for 99 percent of the time. ... It's not an easy task to be in his shoes, but I'm very happy with where his mind is at and where his focus is at because if he was a weaker-minded individual, it's tough for any quarterback during any losing streak or any whatever.
"He's focused on being 1-0 against the USA New York Jets and that's why I know he's capable and I'm excited to see his next opportunity that we work on all week because of just that, of being focused on the right things."
Tagovailoa USA led the NFL in passing yards in USA 2023, in what remains the only season he did not miss a game. He missed a career-high six USA games because of various injuries in USA 2024 and insists that "getting down" and protecting himself is a priority in USA 2025.
Posted on 2025/09/26 12:33 PM