After two rough losses and a very sweet victory against the Dallas Cowboys to start the 2018 football season, the Seahawks managed another victory against their first in-division matchup against the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 30. The 20-17 win was a back and forth game that came down to a made field goal with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Kicker Sebastian Janikowski made a pair of field goals that day from 40 and 52 yards out, the latter of which gave the Seahawks the lead, and eventually the victory.
The other 14 points for the Seahawks came from a pair of rushing touchdowns by running back Mike Davis. Chris Carson didn’t see any snaps against the Cardinals, but Davis ended the game with 101 yards on 21 carries. Rashad had another solid performance with 49 yards on nine carries himself.
This meant Russell Wilson didn’t have a highlight performance. His 172 yards on a 73 percent completion rate is subpar considering Wilson’s incredible career so far. Tyler Lockett and returning Doug Baldwin led the receiving corps with 53 and 41 yards respectively on five receptions each.
Wins over division rivals are the most important, and the Seahawks should be satisfied with evening their record at 2-2. This placed Seattle at second place in the division; ahead of the 1-3 San Francisco 49ers and the now 0-4 Cardinals, but behind the undefeated 4-0 Los Angeles Rams. The defense was consistent, allowing only 263 total yards of offense. However, they only sacked rookie quarterback Josh Rosen once, and for the first time this season did not bring in an interception. Bradley McDougald did recover a fumble off David Johnson forced by Tre Flowers, but that is the only thing worth noting from the Seattle defense.
The offense was not too impressive either. While the 171 total rushing yards by the Seahawks is the most they have accomplished since last year, they won the game without converting a single third down; marking the first team to do this since 2015. Arizona’s kicker Phil Dawson missed two field goals as well which also contributed to Seattle’s victory.
In the aftermath of the game, two Seahawks made the list for first quarter performances this season and could be looking towards an All-Pro selection. Safety Earl Thomas is without a doubt the highest-rated safety in the league, with three interceptions and only three catches allowed to his opposition. Linebacker Bobby Wagner has yet to miss a tackle this season and has only missed three of his last 171 attempts, earning his place on Pro Football Focus’ first-quarter All-Pro team.
The Seahawks did take some hits this game that could be problematic for the rest of the season. Earl Thomas had to be carted off the field in the fourth quarter with what Pete Carroll confirmed as a lower leg fracture. Rookie tight end Will Dissly also had to exit the game with a patellar injury. This is somewhat reminiscent of last year’s game at Arizona, where Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor both suffered season-ending injuries.
With this win, Russell Wilson historically passed Matt Hasselbeck with 75 total wins as quarterback, marking a team best. Pete Carroll also tied Mike Holmgren with 90 total wins for the franchise record.