The Hawks Nest: How the West Was Won
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by SSreporters
Sure, this will be neglected because the Pats kicked butt again, but hey, the Seattle Seahawks are once again champions of the NFC West with a 42-21 thrashing of the Arizona Cardinals. Again, Matt Hasselbeck played the game of his life, and the DEFENSE stepped up (although their streak of allowing less than 3 TD passes was stopped after a late Larry Fitzgerald catch) to win their most impressive game of the year. Before I go to the recap, I'll give some notable stats to show complete domination over the Cards:
- Marcus Trufant had 3 interceptions of Kurt Warner, including an 83 yard pick for six to make it 42-14, Trufant has 7 picks this season, a career high.
- Matt Hasselbeck threw a season high 4 touchdowns to 4 different receivers, and had 0 interceptions.
- Shaun Alexander.....did nothing other than get 23 yards on 4th and 1 so.....never mind.
- Patrick Kerney now leads the NFL in sacks with 13.5 after sacking Warner three times tonight.
1st Quarter
With the Cardinals driving, Kurt Warner severely over threw a wide open receiver, and instead found Seattle's Deon Grant, who set up a field goal for Seattle. The Cardinals went back on offense, but again, were stopped by poor play making decisions, and Seattle had its 2nd possession. A key play occurred on 4th and 1, a Seattle weakness, when Shaun Alexander ran to the outside and slowly and awkwardly got 23 yards. A few snaps later, Nate Burleson was found all alone in the back of the end zone for his only touchdown of the game. Seahawks 10 Cardinals 0.
2nd Quarter
Arizona had a golden opportunity to make it a 10-3 game, but Neil Rackers missed a 50 yard FG to start the quarter, setting up great field position for Seattle. On the 3rd play of the drive, Matt Hasselbeck found Deion Branch, who made a great grab all the way to the Cardinals 15. Next play, Hasselbeck was under pressure, but found Bobby Engram, making a highlight reel catch for another touchdown. It's all Seattle 17-0. After a 3 and out by Arizona and a 26 yard punt return by Nate Burleson, Seattle needed only 4 plays to get Hasselbeck's 3rd TD of the half, this time to Deion Branch. 24-0 Seattle. Any team should think it's pretty much salted away.....but this is Seattle, so you better blow them out. Arizona was clearly in need of some form of points, their playoff chances would take a huge hit with a loss. At the end of the half, after a poor punt by the Seahawks, Warner found Bryant Johnson, playing for the injured Anquan Boldin, 24-7. But, with 1:04 left, Seattle promptly drove down the field and extended their lead to 27-7 at halftime. Seattle had dominated the entire half, now they had to finish the job.
3rd Quarter
A very uneventful quarter, but eventually, Arizona drove deep into Seattle territory, and got a bit of luck. Arizona's Sean Morey missed the ball the first time, it hung in the air, and he caught it with both feet in bounds to cut the lead to 27-14, scary moment sinks in for Seahawks fans. Neil Rackers then successfully recovered the surprise onside kick, and suddenly the momentum is headed towards Arizona. Next play, Kurt Warner throws his 3rd interception of the game (his 2nd was a Hail Mary that was irrelevant to the outcome) to Marcus Trufant to end the 3rd. Just 15 minutes left, Seattle 27-14.
4th Quarter
After the pick, Seattle looked like they were going to be stopped shy of the end zone after reaching the Cardinals 10, but after the incompletion to Marcus Pollard, DE Darnell Dockett of the Cards got tangled up with Chris Spencer of the Seahawks, a fight ensued, and the refs concluded that Dockett had committed a personal foul for ripping Spencer's helmet off. An automatic first down on a 3rd down play. Hasselbeck threw TD pass number 4 to Pollard to extend the lead to 34-14. A bad snap meant a safety for Seattle to make it 36-14 with only a few minutes left, and the Seahawks had put it away. Just to make sure though, Warner threw his 4th pick, it resulted in Marcus Trufant's 84 yard scamper along the sidelines to make it 42-14, Seattle would later screw up the point after snap. Arizona got a late TD, Warner threw a late pick to Trufant, 42-21 is your final.
Opinion time, the Seahawks needed to win this game to prove to all of the critics that they are still the team to beat in the NFC West, when many people picked the 49ers or Cardinals to overtake Seattle in the division. Seattle not only showed that they are the class of the NFC West, they've shown that they are contenders in the NFC playoff race. They can compete against teams like Green Bay and Dallas (doesn't say they're going to win, but hey, any given Sunday). A 4-4 start, many people thought that a new leaf had turned over, but Seattle has won 5 straight, and have the Ravens, Panthers, and Falcons to look forward to. The defense is to me, an elite squad, sacks, turnovers, and points allowed have been tremendous.
The NFC West was won with goal line stands in St. Louis, 3 games against divisional opponents in which they hold them without a touchdown. They won this division with clutch QB play, they won it because they had something to prove, and now, either the Vikings, Cardinals, or some other team awaits.
As for the Cardinals, not only are they out of their division race, but they severely damaged their overall playoff hopes. With the Vikings reaching 7-6, and the Cards dropping to 6-7, they must win out against Atlanta, New Orleans and St. Louis. This is a stretch in which they cannot afford to lose.
Finally, maybe this is the game that proves to the "experts" that Seattle is still a dangerous team to reckon with, instead of wondering if they'll even make the playoffs, we're wondering who they are going to face at Qwest Field in January.
Leave your thoughts on this dominating win in the comments section.
