DANNY ONEIL

Seahawks tie Cardinals 6-6 for first draw in franchise history

Oct 23, 2016, 9:31 PM | Updated: Oct 24, 2016, 9:05 am

Both Stephen Hauschka and Arizona's Chandler Catanzaro missed potential game-winning field goals. (...

Both Stephen Hauschka and Arizona's Chandler Catanzaro missed potential game-winning field goals. (AP)

(AP)

GLENDALE, Ariz. – It was a game the Seahawks seemed certain to lose, first because an offense that crossed midfield only once in the four quarters of regulation and then when Arizona’s kicker Chandler Catanzaro lined up for a 24-yard field-goal attempt only to kick it directly into the upright.

Then – when the Seahawks stood at the brink of what would have been the most improbable victory in an era of improbable victories – Stephen Hauschka pulled a 28-yard field-goal attempt wide left.

That was it: 6-6. A tie. The first in Seattle’s franchise history. In one respect it was fitting: This was a game that no one deserved to win. In another respect, it was absolutely deflating. Because after stumbling through four quarters of the most inept offensive football in Russell Wilson’s time at quarterback, the Seahawks came to life.

Stats

Seattle blocked a field goal in the first half when Bobby Wagner leaped over the line of scrimmage. Seattle blocked a punt in the fourth quarter, setting up the Seahawks’ only score in regulation.

And the Seahawks’ defense played its tail off. For more than 80 plays. Even when the Cardinals got the ball to the Seattle 5 with less than 5 minutes left in overtime, needing only a field goal to win. The Seahawks kept the Cardinals out of the end zone and then Richard Sherman got a great rush on the field-goal attempt, which hit the left upright.

Then Seattle responded. Jermaine Kearse had a 31-yard catch to take the Seahawks across midfield. Doug Baldwin had a 27-yard catch to put Seattle inside the 10. And when it looked like Seattle was going to win, Hauschka pulled a field-goal attempt to the left with 7 seconds remaining.

Arizona ran two plays, but its final pass was short of the end zone and incomplete.

First quarter

The two teams combined for six punts and no points, and the most telling statistic from the period is that Seattle rushed the ball twice for a net loss of 2 yards. That’s right. The Seahawks lost yards on the ground as Russell Wilson was tackled by Tony Jefferson for a 2-yard loss after keeping the ball on a read-option on third-and-1.

Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer outrushed Seattle all on his own in the first quarter, which is kind of sad not just because Palmer is 3 years older than dirt, but because Palmer bounced his own helmet off the turf while sliding feet-first at the end of his 8-yard scramble on the final play of the first quarter.

That scramble came on the heels of a 41-yard punt by Jon Ryan that actually might have been the most important play of the period seeing as how Patrick Peterson ran it back 13 yards, giving Arizona the ball at the Seattle 33.

Second quarter

The Cardinals were all set to get on the scoreboard on their fourth possession. They had field position, having started the drive at the Seattle 33. And even after failing to gain a first down, they lined up to attempt a 39-yard field goal only to have Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner jump over the center and block Chandler Catinazoo’s field-goal attempt. Wait. The Cardinals’ kicker has the last name of Catanzaro. My bad.

Catanzaro did score the first – and only – points of the first half with a 46-yard field goal with 3:16 left in the second quarter. Arizona was in position to score again at the end of the first half, but Frank Clark’s strip sack of Carson Palmer in the final 20 seconds allowed the clock to run out before the Cardinals could attempt a last-second field goal.

Ari – Chandler Catanzaro 46-yard field goal at 3:16. (Drive: 15 plays, 53 yards, 8:24)

Third quarter

Well, the Seahawks crossed midfield. That happened on their first possession of the third quarter, but not to worry, because no sooner had Seattle put the ball in Arizona’s half of the field, Jermaine Kearse was penalized for offensive pass interference, pushing Seattle back into its own half of the field.

The one thing the Seahawks did do was keep the Cardinals from scoring, stopping Arizona on fourth-and-1 at the Seattle 19.

Fourth quarter

First, Seattle’s special teams saved three points. That was on Bobby Wagner’s blocked field goal in the first half. Then, it set up three points. That was on Tanner McEvoy’s block of a punt, which gave Seattle possession at the Arizona 22.

Seattle kicked a field goal to tie the game, but fittingly enough, after gaining no yards on the drive before Stephen Hauschka and his new first-name spelling came in to kick a 40-yard field goal and tie the score at 3-3.

Sea – Stephen Hauschka 40-yard field goal at 4:05. (Drive: 4 plays, 0 yards, 0:33).

Overtime

Seattle gained six first downs in the first four quarters combined. It gained three in a 4-minute drive in overtime, gaining 57 yards to set up Hauschka’s 36-yard field goal to tie the score 6-6. That came after Russell Wilson threw to the corner of the end zone on third-and-6.

Ari – Catanzaro 45 field goal at 11:23. (Drive: 9 plays, 48 yards, 3:37).
Sea – Steven Hauschka 36 field goal at 6:42. (Drive: 9 plays, 57 yards, 4:41).

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