Seahawks’ Darnold calmly directs winning drive vs. Cardinals

Glendale, Arizona-After their praised defense allowed the Cardinals of Arizona to score 17 consecutive points, equaling the scoring at the end of the fourth quarter, the Seahawks managed to win a victory of 23-20 Thursday evening at the State Farm Stadium in large part due to the balance that their new quarter-rear has shown.

Faced with a second and 10 of their own 40 with 23 seconds to play, Sam Darnold struck the receiver Jaxon Smith-Migba on the left touch line for a gain of 22 yards, setting up Jason Myers’s goal in Jason Myers match at 52 yards as Time expired two games later.

“Sam made a perfect throw, honestly,” said Smith-Njigba. “Rear jet. The corner was above me, so he just placed it perfectly, and it was an easy socket.”

Darnold and Smith-Njigba positioned the Seahawks to put the match on their previous speech, connecting for a gain of 36 yards on the right key line on another perfectly placed launch. But Myers missed right on the right on a trial on the field of 53 yards which would have met Seattle at 23-13, and the Arizona then led for the touch.

The Seahawks started the road that followed their own 40 yards after Arizona’s kick -off did not manage to reach the landing area, and Darnold made them pay.

Like all Seahawks contracts, the $ 100.5 million agreement over three years, they gave Darnold in March after exchanging Geno Smith gave the team a potential after a season, putting pressure on their new quarter to provide immediate results in 2025.

And it is.

After finishing 18 of the 26 attempts for 242 yards and a touchdown on Thursday evening, Darnold now has five touches with two interceptions while leading Seattle to a departure of 3-1.

“Sam is playing his mind right now,” said coach Mike Macdonald. “You can see it, he is just a cool customer. But he is a guy on a mission. He is so determined for us to be an excellent team and a big offense, and he does a great job to drive us.”

One of the most impressive aspects of the first season of Darnold in Seattle was his ability to escape pressure and create big flight games, which he again showed against Arizona.

At the end of the second quarter, he found the tight recruit Elijah Arroyo for a gain of 32 yards while rushing to his right. During the next game, he saw an open tape of lawn on a bootleg and run on 24 yards.

These two pieces positioned the Seahawks for a Touché de Zach Charbonnet race which put them 14-3 at halftime.

“I’m really happy that he fell with this one because I think I had 20 meters in front of me in a green grass,” said Darnold about his launch in Arroyo. “So I’m really happy that he made this game.”

The Seahawks advance at halftime would have been greater than 11 points without three errors. Coby Bryant escaped an interception in Arizona, his compatriot Julian Love dropped an easy choice and the Kenneth Walker III ball carrier released Seattle from the range of goals with a taunting penalty.

The Seahawks were nevertheless in total control until the Arizona fell back, leading affected on possessions consecutive to the fourth quarter and requiring the heroism at the end of the game.

The Seahawks had a chance for a similar finish in their first season game, when Darnold’s completion at 40 yards in Smith-Migba obtained them in the red zone against the 49ers of San Francisco. But the game ended when Nick Bosa succeeded in Strip Darnold and recovered the escape.

“He is just at ease in these moments,” said Darnold about Smith-Migba, his receiver No. 1. “He showed that even in the San Francisco match. Obviously, we did not do the job when we played the first match, but he showed his play capacity in large part not only in two minutes but throughout the game. different lever and all these things. “

Smith-Njigba finished second in the NFL with 323 reception yards in the first three games, the best start of a season in the history of the club. He had no take Thursday evening until late in the third trimester before coming to life in the fourth. He finished with 79 yards on four catches.

“Jax, the man, one of the best receivers in the league,” said Love. “People have to put a little respect on his name. This is the real deal.”

Macdonald said that the Seattle touch line did not doubt that Myers will make the match winner despite his lack on the previous reader.

“I have a golf with him this offseason, and it is also his mentality in golf,” said Darnold about Myers, a disability with a figure. “He will hit a bad blow and he will come back and scratch him next. He has this mentality. He becomes quite frustrated when he will not do them, but then he returns and it’s almost automatic when you know he’s going to come and hit the next one.”

Darnold’s Pro Bowl season with Minnesota Vikings ended at State Farm Stadium, which organized its joker match against Los Angeles Rams due to forest fires in South California. He was dismissed nine times in defeat, then struck a free agency after Minnesota decided not to keep it via the franchise label.

“It was just another match,” said Darnold. “Obviously, it’s in the same stadium, but it’s week 4 and we have done a good job today, but there are a lot of things we can clean. But I will enjoy this three -day break or everything we have and watch a Ryder Cup, so I’m excited for that.