Seattle, WA
Game Recap: Seahawks Dominate Cardinals, Seize NFC West Lead
A dominant defensive performance led by defensive lineman Leonard Williams, safety Coby Bryant and cornerback Devon Witherspoon ended the Arizona Cardinals’ four-game win streak in a 16-6 Seattle Seahawks victory on Sunday at Lumen Field.
Seattle (6-5, 2-2 NFC West) took over first place in the division just two weeks after sitting in last coming out of their Week 10 bye. Arizona (6-5, 2-1 NFC West) was held to a season-low six points after averaging 26.3 points per game over their last four games.
The Seahawks played arguably their most complete defensive game of the season, with standout performances across the board. Williams, Bryant and Witherspoon, however, were the catalysts.
Williams posted his best game as a Seahawk, logging six tackles, three tackles for loss, one batted pass, four quarterback hits and 2.5 sacks. Bryant had six tackles and a key pick-six that helped originally give Seattle a two-score lead in the third quarter. Witherspoon forced that errant throw via pressure on Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and finished with five total tackles.
In consecutive weeks, the Seahawks held the San Francisco 49ers and Cardinals — both divisional opponents — to under 300 total yards. Though the offense wasn’t as productive as in recent weeks, the defense picked up the slack.
Seattle’s offense struggled to generate consistent offense in the first half. The Seahawks punted on their first four drives, allowing three sacks of Smith and picking up just 72 total yards during those possessions.
But the defense kept the Cardinals in check, forcing Arizona to punt on four of their first five drives. Nothing came easy for Arizona’s ground game, which entered the contest as one of the league’s top rushing attacks.
As a result, the Cardinals leaned on Murray’s arm in the first half. That brought some chunk plays, but also inconsistency with Seattle’s pass rush looking as good as it has all season. Murray was sacked three times in the first half and completed 10 of 17 passes for 107 yards (24-of-37 passing for 285 yards and an interception in the game).
The Seahawks, trailing 3-0, finally ripped off a chunk play just before the two-minute warning on a tunnel screen to Smith-Njigba, who caught the ball just behind the line of scrimmage and ran for a 46-yard gain to Arizona’s 4-yard line.
Smith-Njigba (team-high six catches for 77 yards) finished off the drive two plays later via a 3-yard touchdown pass from Smith, giving Seattle its first lead of the game, 7-3. That was also Seattle’s lead at halftime.
The defense continued to dominate for the Seahawks in the third quarter. Arizona, on its first drive of the second half, was forced into a 4th and 1 from Seattle’s 40-yard line.
Murray faked a handoff and rolled out to his right with pressure from Witherspoon. Forced into a bad throw, Murray tossed the ball to the waiting arms of safety Bryant, who returned it 69 yards for a touchdown down the left sideline — paying homage to former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch with a groin grab as he jumped backward into the end zone.
The Seahawks continued making life hard for Murray on Arizona’s next drive. Williams kept dominating, generating two negative plays for the Cardinals which included Seattle’s fourth sack of Murray on the day. It finished with five sacks in the game.
Seattle then mounted its longest offensive drive of the day to that point via 11 plays. But Smith’s 12th interception of the season ended what could have been a possession that nearly put the game away.
Rolling out to his right, Smith had a rush lane ahead of him and, instead of staying that course, he tried to rifle a pass into wide receiver Tyler Lockett in the end zone. Cardinals cornerback Garrett Williams plucked it out of the air to get the ball back for Arizona at their own 20-yard line.
Murray and the Cardinals put together their own long drive in response. Eleven plays and 76 yards later, Arizona was forced to kick a short field goal after Seattle’s defense made a goal line stand. However, on a third-down rush that fell short of the goal line, Murray was shaken up and evaluated in the medical tent.
Now leading 13-6 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb opted to keep throwing the football. That resulted in a near-second interception thrown by Smith off a pass that went off Walker’s hands. The call was overturned, however, as Cardinals linebacker Kyzir White couldn’t get his hands under the football.
Seattle converted three critical third downs on that drive alone as they drove just 49 yards in 12 plays to churn eight minutes off the clock. It was enough to get inside Jason Myers’ range, though, and the Seahawks kicker made it a two-score game, 16-6, with 1:56 left on a 50-yard field goal.
With little time left to operate and Murray back in the field, the Cardinals were forced to try a 47-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining. Even if Ryland converted, Arizona’s chance of recovering an onside kick and scoring a touchdown was slim. He missed, and Smith kneeled out the victory for Seattle, finishing the game 22-of-31 passing for 254 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The Cardinals entered the game averaging the fifth-most rushing yards per game (149.4). Against that threat, the Seahawks held the Cardinals to just 49 yards on the ground — a season-best for Seattle.
Arizona’s lead backs James Conner and Trey Benson rushed for just 26 yards on 11 carries. For the fourth-straight game since joining the Seahawks via trade, inside linebacker Ernest Jones IV totaled double-digit tackles (10) and rookie fourth-round pick Tyrice Knight added nine tackles in addition to his first NFL sack.
Seattle’s run defense was a liability through eight games, giving up an average of 148.4 rush yards per game. They’ve allowed an average of 82.3 yards on the ground in the last three games.
After winning their first two games at home this season, the Seahawks came into Week 12 on a four-game home skid. The win over the Cardinals was Seattle’s first win at Lumen Field since Sept. 22.
The Seahawks have just two games this season where they haven’t allowed a touchdown, and both have now been in home games (24-3 Week 3 win vs. Miami Dolphins).
The Seahawks were without power at the VMAC, their team practice facility, for 2.5 days after a major storm hit the Seattle region on Tuesday night. They were without hot water and lights in their locker room in addition to other limitations around the building.
That forced the team to adjust its preparation for the Week 12 game against Arizona. Getting out of an odd week with a victory is a win in itself for the team.
Seattle travels to face the New York Jets (3-8) at 10 a.m. PST in a Week 13 road game at MetLife Stadium. The Seahawks are riding a two-game winning streak for the first time since Week 2.
The Jets have lost seven of their last eight games and enjoyed a bye in Week 12. New York lost 31-6 to Arizona in Week 10 while the Seahawks were on their bye.
Rapid Reaction: Leonard Williams, Seahawks Feast on Cardinals in 16-6 Win
Halftime Observations: Seahawks Engaged in Defensive Slog, Lead Cardinals 7-3
Seahawks RG Anthony Bradford Doubtful to Return vs. Cardinals
Noah Fant Among Seahawks Inactives vs. Cardinals
Game Predictions: Seahawks Week 12 vs. Cardinals
Seattle, WA
Fumes in cockpit forces Hawaiian-bound flight to return to Seattle
Fumes in the cockpit of a Hawaiian-bound flight forced the aircraft to return to the Seattle airport shortly after taking off Monday afternoon.
An airline spokesperson told FOX Business that Hawaiian Airlines flight HA21 returned to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after departure due to fumes in the cabin. It was heading to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.
The captain declared an emergency to obtain priority handling and the Airbus 330 landed at SEA without incident, the airline said.
Medical and fire personnel met the aircraft at the gate and all 273 passengers and 10 crewmembers deplaned safely.
AMERICAN AIRLINES LIFTS NATIONWIDE GROUNDSTOP DUE TO ‘TECHNICAL ISSUE’ ON CHRISTMAS EVE
Once the aircraft was cleared, the Port of Seattle Fire Department boarded to investigate and did not find any smoke or smell, airport spokesperson Perry Cooper told The Associated Press.
Flight 21 left Seattle on Tuesday morning in a new aircraft.
FOX Business has reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for further details.
CLICK HERE TO GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO
Seattle, WA
Seattle to Hawaii flight turns back after fumes in cockpit
SEATTLE — A Hawaiian airlines flight bound for Honolulu was forced to return to the Seattle airport shortly after takeoff due to reports of fumes in the cockpit, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The agency previously said the crew reported smoke on the flight deck but later changed that to fumes.
Hawaiian Airlines Flight 21, an Airbus A330, took off at about 1 p.m. Monday from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport carrying 273 passengers and 10 crew members.
It was heading to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu when the crew reported the fumes, airline spokesperson Marissa Villegas told The Associated Press in an email.
“The captain declared an emergency to obtain priority handling and the Airbus A330 landed at SEA without incident,” Villegas said, and fire and medical personnel met the aircraft at the gate as a precaution and everyone onboard safely deplaned.
Once the aircraft was cleared, the Port of Seattle Fire Department boarded to investigate and did not find any smoke or smell, airport spokesperson Perry Cooper said via email.
Flight 21 left Seattle on Tuesday morning in a new aircraft, according to Villegas.
“Safety is our priority, and we sincerely apologize for this event,” she said.
The FAA is investigating.
Seattle, WA
Barely Relevant: Well, it’s over for this year’s Seahawks
Author’s note: This is the seventeenth installment of my weekly column, Barely Relevant.
Well, it’s over. And, for what it’s worth, the Seattle Seahawks had a pretty darn good year. Pretty darn good is a tough phrase to unpack, though, mostly because it doesn’t mean anything. How can something be pretty good? Something is either good or it isn’t. In that respect, anything under good is bad. Thus, pretty good = bad. Thus, the Seattle Seahawks’ 2024 season.
Yes, we’re guaranteed to finish with a winning record. No, we didn’t make the playoffs. Yes, we have a brand-new coaching staff. No, our preseason free-agent additions didn’t pan out like we had hoped they would. Yes, some people blame our quarterback. No, some other people don’t think it’s our quarterback. Yes, our offensive line was again one of the worst in the NFL. No, we didn’t run the ball like we’d wanted. Yes, we should keep DK Metcalf. No, we should not keep DK Metcalf.
The wild mood swings involved in being a Seahawks fan have a juxtaposing pendulum effect that bounces like a migraine between my two temples. What are the answers? Who the hell knows? Certainly not John Schneider. And certainly not me. All he can do is attempt to juggle Geno and DK contracts while continuing to try to bring in quality free agents, and all I can do is hang out on my couch and go “yes!” and “damn!” which are words that have zero currency or worth.
Because no matter what anyone (us included) says over the next nine months, nothing else matters except how the Seahawks play – on the field during the regular season – next year. Oh, we’ll speculate wildly. And we’ll throw numbers around and feign confidence about new free agent this and new draft pick that, but it doesn’t matter a hell of beans because it’s just mind football.
This, right now, is as far as you’ll be from a game that matters all year.
For some reason, though, it doesn’t feel all that bad. Am I alone here? I don’t know about you, but my expectations weren’t that high. And I kind of like mind football. Of course, it sucks we missed the playoffs – and it CERTAINLY sucks the way we missed the playoffs (f-ing helmet bounce [I’m deflecting blame here]), but, hell, our defense looks promising. Our new head coach seems to know what he’s doing, our running backs look like ballers (if we can find an offensive coordinator who knows how to utilize them), and our second-year wide receiver is ready for lift-off.
If we can manage to figure out our quarterback situation and pick up some offensive linemen, Seattle could be poised to make things interesting. For some reason, I’m already ready to talk all about it. And the draft! There’s no mourning period here. Let’s hurry up and end this season and get into it.
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, nothing is going to matter until we start playing games that count again. But who wants to wait nine months to play football? Not me. That’s why every sportswriter you know is going to begin playing mind football right now.
Join us.
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