Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald was the best player on the field today, and he just took over the game in overtime.
Fitzgerald had two catches for 38 yards in the final drive, including a diving, one-handed catch over the middle that put the Cardinals in field goal range at Seattle’s 24-yard line.
Three plays later, Arizona kicker Jay Feely split the uprights on a 28-yard field goal to give the Cardinals their first victory over the Seahawks in four games.
Fitzgerald finished with nine catches for 149 yards, including a long of 41 yards. Second-year quarterback John Skelton targeted him 18 times.
Nothing like some bonus football, as the Seahawks extended their season with an overtime 23-20 loss to the Cardinals. The Seahawks definitely had their chances, but remember the Cardinals were just as hot as the Seahawks coming into the game.
No playoffs for this season, but lots of growth was made in the second half of the year. While Eric’s down getting his interviews, here are few subjects to ponder:
• Defense: Do you still like what’s been established this season, with the young defensive backs getting valuable time, the line finding its legs against the run behind the …
No surprises for Seattle today. Both receiver Ben Obomanu (knee) and linebacker David Hawthorne (knee) practiced on Friday and are active for today’s game.
But for Arizona, running back Beanie Wells is inactive with a knee issue. LaRod Stephens-Howling will start in his place.
And as expected, quarterback Kevin Kolb is inactive because of concussion issues, and John Skelton will start in his place.
To a man, the Seattle Seahawks believed they should have beaten the San Francisco 49ers here tonight.
“It’s just a tough one to swallow,” Seattle defensive back Roy Lewis said. “I feel like we had control of the game early. And then they kind of rallied back, and that’s what we expected because they’re a good team.
“And then we rallied back, and we started to make our surge in the second half. We came up short – the ball really, truly didn’t bounce are way. And that’s the toughest one to swallow. Those are the ones that are going to sting, and leave a nasty taste in our mouth.”
Seattle receiver Richardo Lockette catches a 44-yard pass in the opening quarter against San Francisco. (AP Photo/Kevin Casey)
The San Francisco 49ers escaped with a 19-17 win on the road on Christmas Eve over NFC West division rival Seattle at CenturyLink Field.
The win eliminates Seattle from playoff consideration at 7-8 overall with one game left next week at Arizona.
The Niners moved to 12-3 on the year, and still have a shot at earning the No. 2 overall seed in the NFC depending on what happens between New Orleans and Atlanta on Monday night.
Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch provided the offensive spark for the Seahawks, finishing with 107 yards on 21 carries.
Seattle linebacker Heath Farwell put Seattle in position to take the lead at the end of the game, blocking San Francisco punter Andy Lee’s punt, with the Niners recovering at the 4-yard line.
Lynch broke San Francisco’s streak of not allowing a rushing touchdown this season on a 4-yard jaunt around the right side into the end zone, giving Seattle a 17-16 lead with 6:41 left.
But the Niners came right back to take the lead for good, marching six plays on 39 yards, with kicker David Akers punching in the game winner from 39 yards out, one of four field goals on the day.
Lynch also broke San Francisco’s 36-game streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher – the last running back to do that before the Seattle runner was Green Bay’s Ryan Grant in November 2009.
Seattle quarterback Tarvaris Jackson had two opportunities to get Seattle into the end zone in the final three minutes, but was unsuccessful. Check out the stats here.
And let me know your thoughts on the game in the comments section.
Seattle Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin answered any question about his status via Twitter yesterday: “If you think for one second that a little ankle is gonna stop me… And its against James Joseph… Ya’ll dont know me! lol.”
True to his word, Baldwin looked fine in warm-ups and is active for today’s game.
However, the Seahawks will be missing some key backups, with cornerback Kennard Cox (hamstring), linebacker Malcolm Smith (concussion) and defensive tackle Clinton McDonald (concussion) inactive today.
But Seattle catches a break with linebacker Patrick Willis remaining inactive with a hamstring issues, and receiver Ted Ginn Jr. out because of a lingering ankle injury. Larry Grant will start inside at linebacker for Willis.
The takeaway for the Seattle Seahawks and coach Pete Carroll in his team’s 38-14 win over Chicago was not the impressive win on the road, but the way they got it – scoring 31 unanswered points in the second half, with folks at Soldiers Field streaming for the exits early in the fourth quarter.
“It is a big deal,” Carroll said. “We’ve played these guys now three times, and to get them twice and really get them well two times – we’ve beat them pretty good the two times here – that’s really exciting. Unfortunately that darn snow game ain’t going away. We missed that one.
“But it is important. We put this to rest. It’s not a big deal going to the middle of the country and playing a football game at 12 o’clock. It’s been a problem for a lot of teams.”
After a day of practice on Friday, Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Robert Gallery appeared fully recovered from a hip issue and is active for today.
But offensive lineman Jarriel King, questionable heading into today’s game with a hamstring issue, is inactive for today.
For Chicago, quarterback Jay Cutler (broken thumb), running back Matt Forte (sprained knee), safety Major Wright and defensive tackle Henry Melton (shin) are out for today’s game.
