Cardinals prove worth as NFC West favorites with win over Seahawks

Arizona distanced itself further from Seattle in the NFC West standings.

Cutler hit tight end Zach Miller on an 87-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and added an 83-yard screen pass to running back Jeremy Langford in the second, becoming the first-ever Chicago quarterback to accomplish that feat.

The Cardinals did it Sunday despite blowing an early 19-0 lead and falling behind early in the fourth quarter, thanks to a pair of strip-sacks on quarterback Carson Palmer as the Seahawks’ pass rush exploited and exacerbated issues with the protection. – Jameis Winston scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper with 54 seconds remaining, and Tampa Bay extended Dallas’ longest losing streak since 1989 to seven games.

The Cardinals didn’t just beat the Seahawks, they fended off a furious Seattle comeback – the kind that, in the past, would have had the Cardinals’ heads hanging in the locker room and with talk of teachable moments. We learned that Carson Palmer is the real deal, torching the Seahawks to the tune of 363 yards and 3 TDs.

A year ago, Arizona was in command of the division at the midpoint of the season, only to crumble down the stretch after Palmer was lost to a season-ending knee injury.

Arizona now has a hefty cushion with only seven weeks left in the regular season, leaving Seattle to look at the wild-card race.

Fantasy Impact: Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense came alive a little bit in the second half, but it was not enough as the Cardinals won by a score of 39-32. On Sunday night, he was leading the Cardinals to their second win in Seattle in three years and quieting critics who said Arizona’s fast start was a mirage of fortunate scheduling.

“He might not have many highlight plays”, Arizona safety Tyrann Mathieu said, “but that was one of them”.

This reversal of fortune is due in part to Seattle’s mistaken identity in 2015, but it has just as much or more to do with the fact that Arians’s team has found its pulse, and its courage, and its confidence.

“We knew it was going to be a fight”, cornerback Jerraud Powers said.

-WR Paul Richardson made his season debut with a 40-yard catch in the first half, then left the game with a hamstring injury. Cardinals receiver Jaron Brown had a great fourth quarter. This time it was Wright coming unblocked to knock the ball free. The Seahawks missed a two-point conversion pass, though, and trailed 25-23.

Arizona built leads of 19-0 in the second quarter and 22-7 at halftime, capitalizing on Seattle’s inefficiency and mistakes on offense, and hitting big plays against the Seahawks vaunted defense. Wright rushed Palmer from his linebacker position and came through untouched.

Wagner had a good game, picking up 11 combined tackles and scoring a huge fumble return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that gave Seattle the lead. And fore the first time in memory, Seattle’s corners were simply dominated – 15 catches by the redoubtable Larry Fitzgerald alone.

“(The penalties) gave them a lot more opportunities; you can’t give a team like that opportunities”, Wagner said.

“We went after them, and they ran a draw, where we could have run right into it and killed it. We didn’t They got through, it was a nice job by them, and I don’t know how we got pinned inside the sidelines like that”.