They used to be impenetrable on defense. But they lost Palmer in their ninth game – the most damaging blow in a series of them that left Arizona limping into the playoffs with a fourth-string quarterback and backups all over. The 35-year-old Palmer has thrown an NFC-best 20 touchdowns – including four as the Cardinals won their second straight contest with a 34-20 victory over Cleveland on November 1. Palmer rebounded from two costly fumbles in the fourth quarter that led to 12 points for Seattle, the second one scooped up and returned 22 yards for a touchdown by Bobby Wagner that gave the Seahawks a 29-25 lead.
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Palmer came right out and gave the Cardinals the lead back with his third touchdown pass, a 14-yard strike over the middle to tight end Jermaine Gresham with 8:41 left.
That’s exactly what happened, and Ellington cruised 48 yards for a touchdown, putting Arizona up, 39-29. After New York’s Josh Brown made his fourth field goal of the game with 1:47 remaining, Tom Brady drove the Patriots (9-0) 44 yards, converting a fourth-and-10 on the series. The Seahawks coach didn’t have to plan against Palmer last season due to the latter’s torn ACL, but will get quite the look on Sunday when the Arizona Cardinals pay a visit to Seattle. The Seahawks earlier said that his absence was not related to an injury and he then joined the team during their practice session on Thursday.
It is this difference that leads me to believe the time has come for Arizona to seize the divisional crown, if only for a year. “He stays strong on the sideline”. The Seahawks’ Pete Carroll, who coached the 35-year-old Palmer at Southern California, has certainly taken notice.
Johnson’s average of 4.8 yards per attempt this season is his most efficient since his 2009 season in Tennessee when he famously ran for more than 2,000 yards. Richard Sherman is still looking for his first after almost coming up with a couple of interceptions against Dallas.
The re-emergence of Larry Fitzgerald has been huge for Arizona this season and he has no plans to slow down. Look for a hard-fought, low-scoring game that Seattle ultimately wins. They dominated the Seahawks early, led 19-0 in the second quarter, and then guard Mike Iupati went down with a neck injury and everything changed.
Fitzgerald had 10 catches for 130 yards, his most receptions since Week 14 of 2013, and Michael Floyd had two big touchdown receptions in the first half. 25-17 Cards. At this point Seattle had all the momentum and it was starting to feel like one of those games that would see the Cardinals implode and get blown out.
The Cardinals like to air the ball out, so this will be a game that favors Irvin’s speed rush and pass coverage. Both the Seahawks and Rams are now 4-5. Both led to touchdowns and Seattle led 29-25. The two time defending Champions Seahawks will be trying to wrestle the keys away from the Division leading Cardinals and find their way back into the drivers seat. It’s good to get this far up in this division (three games), especially this division. We came back and it was our game to win, and we have to finish that game.
“All year, we’ve kind of been the team that’s going to blow a team out, or if it’s close, we lose it”, running back Chris Johnson said.
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There were plenty of reasons why Seattle lost this gam – from the 14 penalties that it was assessed, to the fact that this Seahawks defense that prides itself on not allowing big plays was twice beaten over the top for touchdowns in the second quarter. Replays showed Iupati lowering his head on the block and Chancellor hitting Iupati’s helmet with his shoulder.
