Seahawks Drop Ball, Game Bloopers Doom Seattle, 20-14
Had the old Decatur Staleys and Canton Bulldogs played like this in the 1920s, the National Football League surely would have died aborning.
The Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday combined for a game so filled with blunders that the 60-minute time limit couldn’t contain them - forcing overtime to cram in a few more mistakes.
In the end, the game concluded in concert with its nature, as a Seahawks turnover led to a 72-yard Cardinals interception return in overtime as Arizona won 20-14 in front of an indifferent Sun Devil Stadium gathering of 39,600.
The numbers for the Seahawks are staggering:
Eight fumbles - three lost.
Four interceptions. Actually five, except one was called back because of a Cardinals penalty.
Thirteen penalties for 74 yards. And that’s just the ones that were accepted.
Six dropped passes - the last one by fullback Mack Strong, leading to Lorenzo Lynch’s game-winning return.
A blocked field goal that could have won the game in the fourth quarter.
And Arizona was almost as bad, with two interceptions and two lost fumbles, nine penalties and a blocked field goal that would have ended overtime.
In the end, the Hawks seemed dazed and confused.
And, for the most part, humiliated by the four-game losing streak that sends their record to 2-6.
Because this was a game, against a 2-5 Cardinals team, that they should have won.
“It just rips your heart out,” said Hawks coach Dennis Erickson.
“Words don’t describe this loss,” Hawks kicker Todd Peterson said.
“I am devastated by this loss,” Strong added.
And defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy voiced what had to be the feelings of anyone who watched this 3 hours and 44 minutes of football bloopers: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game like this.”
The only appropriate soundtrack to the video of this game would be a carnival calliope.
“We’ve been preaching and preaching about turnovers,” Erickson said, referring to the whopping 17 turnovers that led to four straight losses. “We’ve been turning the ball over the last three games, and if I had an answer to it, we wouldn’t be doing it. But I don’t have an answer for it.”
The game-winning interception that bounced off Strong’s hands was just the final indignity.
With John Friesz getting his first start as a Seahawk, it quickly became clear he wasn’t going to get much help. His first pass was dropped by Brian Blades, and his next pass was incomplete as he was slammed to the turf by Cardinal Eric Swann.
On that play, Friesz suffered a shoulder sprain. When the Hawks got the ball back on the next possession, Friesz tried to hand off to Chris Warren, but “just couldn’t get the ball to him,” Friesz said.
Arizona recovered the fumbled exchange and needed only four plays to drive in for a touchdown on an 8-yard pass from former Seahawk Dave Krieg to Rob Moore.
With Friesz getting treatment in the locker room, Rick Mirer - the Hawks’ former starter who was benched because of shaky play - returned to action.
Mirer, his confidence clearly eroded by the league-high 12 interceptions that led to his benching, quickly added to that total as his two pass attempts were intercepted.
The first of two Carlton Gray interceptions of Krieg ended the first Cardinals attempt to capitalize, but the second Mirer pick was returned by linebacker Michael Bankston to the Seattle 5, where Bankston fumbled. Teammate Keith McCants scooped it up and ran in for the score.
So, in the Hawks’ first 13 plays, three turnovers led to 14 Cardinals points. In fact, the Hawks had two interceptions before completing a pass to a teammate, and in the first 30 minutes of play, they had as many turnovers (four) as first downs.
“Everyone counted us out when we were down 14-0, but we came back and had a chance to win,” said Friesz, an Idaho grad whose numbers - 17 of 32 for 205 yards and two TDs were greatly diminished by the six drops. “There was no quit in this team. Guys were making their blocks and running backs were popping through holes in the second half.”
So true.
Friesz drove the Hawks for a score on their first chance in the second half, finding Strong out of the backfield for a 17-yard scoring pass.
Strong, getting playing time because Steve Smith dropped two passes, had both TD catches.
Warren and Cardinal Garrison Hearst swapped fumbles in the third quarter before Friesz took the Hawks on the game-tying drive of 78 yards.
The score was set up by a 68-yard burst by backup tailback Lamar Smith, an effort that set a team record for longest run.
Warren, who finished with 127 yards on 23 carries, appeared to sew the game up for the Hawks, taking a toss to the left on third-and-9 at the Seattle 41 and racing into the Arizona secondary.
At about the Cardinal 7, though, cornerback Brent Alexander tackled him, forcing a fumble that McCants fell on in the end zone.
Still, when Seattle’s Winston Moss recovered an Arizona fumble at the Cardinals 33 with 3:54 remaining, the Hawks seemed to be in good shape for at least a field goal.
They got the chance, a 43-yarder by Peterson with 2:18, but it was blocked by Swann.
Arizona moved quickly to the Seahawks 10 on the first drive of overtime, but when Cardinals kicker Greg Davis lined up for a 27-yard chip shot, Seattle’s Sam Adams burst through to block it.
“I just went right around my guy,” Adams said. “I wished I could have caught it and run for a touchdown.”
Friesz again moved the Hawks, but at the Cardinals 33, his pass to Strong ricocheted up to Lynch, who sprinted to the end zone and to the win.
“That’s the way we like to win it,” Lynch said. “On a big defensive play that wins it. Hopefully, that’s the play that is going to turn our season around.”
It may for the Cardinals, but it kept the Seahawks’ season on the same dreary path.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo