Seahawks vs. Cardinals, Week 18: Live game updates, highlights, score summary, recap

The Seahawks must win their regular season finale to have a chance at the postseason.

It’s now or never for the Seattle Seahawks (8-8).

Having squandered a golden opportunity last week to make Week 18 a “win-and-in” situation, Seattle must defeat the Arizona Cardinals (4-12) in order to stay alive in the NFC Wild Card hunt. Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers need to lose or tie the Chicago Bears for the Seahawks to have any hope of the postseason. A Packers win renders any Seahawks result moot. The Seahawks have only lost once at Arizona in the last ten seasons, but if the defense doesn’t improve, then the Cardinals are very capable of pulling off the upset.

This is a live, regularly updated summary of all the action, with a full recap and highlights coming once the game is complete. Consider this more like a commentary separate from the game threads, and refreshing this page will produce the latest information. When all the action is over, this turns into a hangout/celebratory space/venting room for the comments section! If the Seahawks are out of the playoffs, then this is the place of mourning/relief that the season is over.

Here we go!

1st Quarter

The Seahawks started the game on defense, as they have for a majority of the season. A Kyler Murray screen pass to Trey McBride on the second play of the game picked up 24 yards. The next McBride target was broken up by Jordyn Brooks, who was shaken up on the play. Brooks came into the game with an ankle sprain, and it showed. Seattle was able to put the Cardinals behind schedule and force a punt.

Backed up inside their own 10, the Seahawks moved the ball effectively on their opening drive. Geno Smith hit his first three passes for 40 yards, while Kenneth Walker gained 32 on the ground. Walker frequently created yards for himself when the OL wasn’t getting the job done. A 3rd and 4 drop by DK Metcalf on a Cover 0 blitz ended the drive, with Jason Myers hitting a field goal for the game’s first points.

Arizona went three-and-out on the following possession, with Devon Witherspoon making a superb play to stop Greg Dortch short of the sticks on 3rd and 7. Seattle got the ball back at its own 20, but after a 3rd and 6 conversion to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Geno Smith misfired to an open DK Metcalf and nearly got picked on 3rd down.

2nd Quarter

The Cardinals offense finally got into gear thanks to Kyler Murray’s legs and James Conner’s ability to motor in the open field. Seattle’s defense looked stuck in the mud and the Cardinals marched to the Seahawks’ 2. Quandre Diggs and Riq Woolen strung out the Kyler read-option keeper to deny the QB on 3rd and goal. Matt Prater tied it up at 3-3 on a chippie.

Geno Smith hit Tyler Lockett for a huge gain for 37 yards on 3rd down to set the Seahawks up deep in Arizona territory. Two snaps later, a busted coverage by the Cardinals cleared the way for Washington’s own Will Dissly to get his first touchdown of the season!

Arizona, naturally, responded with points. James Conner converted on a 3rd and 6 run, and Kyler hit Michael Wilson deep down the field on a flea-flicker to put the Cards in the red zone again. Thankfully, Seattle’s defense stiffened up, Arizona false started, and they settled for another field goal with under two minutes left in the half.

Seattle worked its way into field goal range through Zach Charbonnet and a couple of Geno completions. With no timeouts left and :25 left, Seattle had to be smart with the clock. Smith scrambled out of a possible sack and scrambled for 21 yards to the 10-yard line. An end zone shot to Lockett was incomplete, and Jason Myers had enough time to kick a field goal to give Seattle a 7-point halftime lead.

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter: Jason Myers 34-yard field goal – SEA 3, AZ 0

2nd Quarter: Matt Prater 23-yard field goal – SEA 3, AZ 3

2nd Quarter: Geno Smith 19-yard touchdown pass to Will Dissly – SEA 10, AZ 3

2nd Quarter: Matt Prater 34 yard field goal – SEA 10, AZ 6

3rd Quarter: Jason Myers 29-yard field goal – SEA 13, AZ 6

Seahawks Injury Report

LB Jordyn Brooks left the game on the opening series after apparently re-aggravating his injured ankle. He was replaced by Devin Bush but returned on the next series.

Next week’s opponent

We’ll find out in about three hours!