With just under a minute left in the game on Thursday night, the Cardinals managed to tie the score against the Seahawks at 20-20, pulling through in a challenging fourth quarter.
However, Arizona’s special teams struggled significantly, which proved costly. The team’s kicker, Chad Ryland, had a couple of short kickoffs that failed to reach the designated area as per the NFL’s updated kickoff rules implemented last season.
Seattle, recognizing the opportunity, capitalized on this mistake.
Despite a minor setback, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold connected with Jackson Smith-Njigba for a 22-yard gain, setting up kicker Jason Myers for a 52-yard field goal attempt after some solid rushing plays. Myers, who had missed an earlier kick in the fourth quarter, nailed this one, leading to a 23-20 win over the Cardinals and improving Seattle’s record to 3-1 this season.
This isn’t the first time the Seahawks have benefited from an error in kickoff; just two weeks prior, they had a similar situation where they scored thanks to poor kickoff management from the opposing team.
After the game, Seahawks head coach Mike McDaniel expressed his enthusiasm for the new kickoff rules, simply stating, “I love it.”
In a last-ditch effort, Arizona’s quarterback Kyler Murray executed a 12-play, 57-yard drive, culminating in a 6-yard touchdown pass. Yet, rather than opting for a two-point conversion to potentially win the game outright—something that analytics suggested was a more favorable choice—the Cardinals chose to kick the extra point and tie the game.
After the subsequent kickoff and several plays in overtime, victory slipped through their fingers.
Now with a 2-2 record, the Cardinals are looking ahead to their upcoming game against the Titans on October 5th.
