THE UGLY
Injuries: Three Seahawks and four Cardinals left the field with injuries on Sunday night and did not return, in addition to a number of players who did rejoin the contest after some time on the sideline. For the Seahawks, RB Chris Carson went into the locker room during the first half with what coach Pete Carroll described as a “mid-foot sprain,” while CB Shaquill Griffin and RB Travis Homer suffered a concussion and a knee contusion, respectively, in the second half. On the Cardinals’ side, LB Isaiah Irving was strapped to a backboard after injuring his neck lowering his helmet into Travis Homer’s shoulder; he reportedly has feeling in all of his extremities. The cart came back out late in the game for RB Kenyan Drake, who ripped his helmet off in agony from an apparent ankle injury. DEs Zach Allen (ankle) and Jordan Phillips (hamstring) were also forced to exit the game. This season has been absolutely brutal across the league, inspiring debates on the merits of preseason games and of artificial turf versus real grass fields. State Farm Stadium in particular holds several bad memories for Seahawks fans, injury-related (Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Will Dissly) and performance-related (Super Bowl XLIX, the 6-6 tie in 2016).
Mayowa’s penalty: The Seahawks were up by 10 points over the Cardinals with 3:02 left in the fourth quarter as Arizona kicker Zane Gonzalez lined up for a 52-yard field goal attempt. Regardless of whether or not Gonzalez made the kick, all the Seahawks had to do in order to put the game away was to play it safe, get two or three first downs, and run out the clock (provided that nothing bad happened). Something bad did happen, however, when DE Benson Mayowa committed two penalties by jumping early and using leverage to vault over the opposing linemen in an attempt to block the kick. The resulting 15 yards awarded to the Cardinals breathed new life into their offense, culminating in a touchdown two plays later for a massive momentum swing. Of all eight penalties that Seattle committed on Sunday night, Mayowa’s was by far the most costly, not only because of the yardage but also due to its timing.
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