By Michael-Shawn Duger, Doug Haller and Jenna West
The Seattle Seahawks held off the Arizona Cardinals’ fourth-quarter comeback attempt, scoring a game-winning field goal as time expired to win 23-20 Thursday night.
The Cardinals’ offense struggled most of the game before wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. caught an overhead, high-point touchdown early in the fourth quarter to threaten the lead Seattle held all night. On their next possession, the Cardinals tied the game with quarterback Kyler Murray’s short pass to running back Emari Demercado.
However, it wasn’t enough to hold off Seattle, as quarterback Sam Darnold marched the Seahawks down the field, setting up Jason Myers’ walk-off 52-yard field goal.
Seattle improved to 3-1 with the win, while the Cardinals fell to 2-2.
Seahawks escape Cardinals
This game probably shouldn’t have come down to a game-winning kick. The Seahawks were in control most of the game on both sides of the ball. But the offense stalled on multiple trips into Arizona territory, and Seattle’s defensive backs were on the wrong end of multiple explosive plays in the final frame, allowing the Cardinals to tie it up.
This ultimately came down to the Cardinals not having any answers in the second half for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, whose 22-yard catch on the final drive set up Myers’ game-winner. Smith-Njigba had all 79 of his receiving yards in the second half — mostly against cornerback Max Melton — to help secure a third straight victory. — Michael-Shawn Dugar, Seahawks beat writer
Darnold delivers
This was Darnold’s first game-winning drive as a Seahawk. The veteran quarterback wisely threw the ball away on first-and-10 to preserve the team’s final timeout (AJ Barner was wide open underneath but almost certainly would have been tackled inbounds). Then he threw a perfect back-shoulder pass to Smith-Njigba that put Seattle at the Arizona 38-yard line.
Darnold was 18-of-26 passing for 242 yards and one touchdown while making big throws all night. Seattle’s $100 million man delivered in its first prime-time game of the year. — Dugar
Where was Arizona’s offense?
“It’s a long season.” Cardinals fans are about to hear this a lot, and it’s true. They should trust their eyes more than Arizona’s 2-2 record, though.
Through four games, the Cardinals have not played a complete game. They built leads and had to hold on against the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers. They lost to the beaten-up San Francisco 49ers on a last-second field goal.
Against Seattle, they fell behind early and played a strong fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough. Offense is the problem. The Cardinals cannot run the ball, which was supposed to be their strength. They struggle to protect Murray, who was sacked six times Thursday. It’s a long season, no doubt, but the Cardinals need to start figuring things out quickly. — Doug Haller, Cardinals beat writer
Harrison’s breakthrough
Despite the loss, Arizona had one encouraging sign: Harrison might have rediscovered his confidence. It’s been a rough go for the second-year receiver. After a solid start in Week 1 against New Orleans, he struggled to get involved in a Week 2 win over Carolina. Then came the disaster at San Francisco, where Harrison — the No. 4 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft — dropped two passes, one while wide open at midfield.
Harrison got off to another slow start against Seattle. He had a miscommunication with Murray that resulted in an incomplete pass. He also bobbed a pass over the middle, a play that resulted in a Seattle interception. The good thing for Arizona is that Harrison rebounded. With six minutes left in the fourth quarter, he caught a contested 16-yard pass for a touchdown. Harrison stayed on bended knee in the end zone, looking down for several seconds. He finished with six catches for 66 yards, a boost he desperately needed. — Haller
What a play by MHJ 🙌 pic.twitter.com/LJZok2YjGW
— NFL (@NFL) September 26, 2025
(Photo of Jason Myers: Joe Camporeale / Imagn Images)
