Cardinals

But momentum can be a strange bedfellow; it can reverse itself in a heartbeat. And that’s exactly what happened.

On their ensuing possession, the Cardinals managed to increase their lead to 20-7 thanks to a 46-yard field goal, but rookie quarterback Kyler Murray tweaked his right hamstring during the drive. He was done for the day – and perhaps for the rest of the season. Murray didn’t even try to get the leg loose as he scowled about his situation on the sideline.

It was bad. And then it got worse when, after backup Brett Hundley replaced him, kicker Zane Gonzalez had a 45-yard field goal attempt blocked, recovered and returned all the way down to the Cardinals’ 16-yard line. Momentum had swung wildly the other way, the crowd was roaring the loudest it had all afternoon, and a touchdown would put Seattle right back into it.

“I think we’ve been making strides the last couple games. Hopefully, it can roll into next year and we can continue this.”

Except the Cardinals

They held firm.

Corey Peters tackled rookie running back Travis Homer for a 3-yard loss. Joe Walker pushed Homer out of bounds after a 10-yard catch. And on third and 3 and Homer running off tackle, Hicks and Walker teamed up to bring him down for another 3-yard loss. The Seahawks had to settle for a field goal and that stifled their hopes for a comeback.

Hundley and running back Kenyan Drake would later crush it as the Cardinals mounted a game-clinching, 9play, 78-yard touchdown drive, capped by Drake’s 3-yard run. When he finally got done celebrating in the end zone, Drake started dancing on the sideline and didn’t want to stop. Fox Sports analyst Daryl Johnston said it was too soon to get that happy, but it wasn’t. It was over.

“The defense really set the tone after that,” coach Kliff Kingsbury said of the key momentum switch. “We had a couple tough drops and then had the field goal blocked … and the defense stands up and holds them to a field goal. I thought that was huge and really the turning point in the game. Those guys didn’t blink. Really, the rest of the game, they played their tails off and gave us a chance to win.

“Offensively, we were struggling a little bit, had some three and outs, but they kept getting us the ball back and I was really proud of their effort. … I think everybody felt like having been in the game, we were right there, and it was just going to take us one play to get over the hump.”

After being roughed up most of the season, the defense played its best game yet against the Seahawks, allowing season-lows in points (13), touchdowns (1), first downs (13), third-down conversions (1), total net yards (224), net passing yards (133) and completion percentage (51.6). didn’t cave.

This, of course, after the Seahawks went 89 yards on nine plays and scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the game.

On their final 12 drives, they posted just two field goals and gained just 135 total net yards.

It was the series of two defensive stops for minus-3 yards and the push out of bounds that swung the game back around for the Cardinals.

“That was huge for us to come out and get a stop there,” Walker said. “That could have been a huge turning point in the game. It could have been a big swing right there. It’s just a testament to the guys there stepping up. I think we’ve been making strides the last couple games. Hopefully, it can roll into next year and we can continue this.”

Just as important as the defense was the Cardinals’ continuing ability to run the ball behind Drake, who followed up a career-high game last week with another one on Sunday. He ran 24 times for 166 yards and two touchdowns as Arizona finished with 253 rushing yards overall.

It’s the third time this season and the second in two weeks that they’ve ran for 200 or more yards, something they haven’t done since 1983. The last two games have helped push the Cardinals’ rushing attack into a Top 10 ranking as they now are averaging 127.9 yards per game. “It feels great,” right guard J.R. Sweezy said Monday. “We kind of found our identity a little too late – way too late, as a matter of fact. But it’s good to be doing that, it’s something to build off of, and it’s unfortunate we couldn’t be doing it earlier.”

One constant all year has been the play of outside linebacker Chandler Jones, who registered four sacks on Sunday and two more forced fumbles, raising his league-leading total in both statistics to 19 and eight, respectively. Jones is now just 31⁄2 sacks away from tying Michael Strahan’s single-season record of 221⁄2.

“I try not to think about the numbers, I just play,” Jones said, adding, “That would be remarkable. Not just for me, but for my team, my family. … A lot of guys have gotten close, so we’ll see what happens.”