Seattle tops Arizona, sits atop NFC West
Russell Wilson rebounded from his worst performance of the season to throw for two touchdowns, and the host Seattle Seahawks moved back on top of the NFC West with a 2821 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night.
Wilson was flawless, erasing the mistakes from the past four weeks when Seattle dropped three of four, including losses in the past two weeks to Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams. The skid left Seattle in a tie on top of the NFC West with the Rams and Cardinals.
For a few days, Seattle ( 73) will be back on top alone at least until the Rams play on Monday night against Tampa Bay. It was an important victory for the Seahawks heading into the softest part of their schedule, with four upcoming games against teams with a combined 8281 record.
Wilson was 23for28 for 197 yards and TD passes of 25 yards to DK Metcalf and 11 yards to Tyler Lockett in the first half. Wilson had committed 10 turnovers in the previous four games combined, a stretch that started with Seattle’s 3734 overtime loss to Arizona in Week 7.
Lockett, who had 15 catches for 200 yards and three TDs in the first meeting with Arizona, had another nine catches for 67 yards.
But the biggest boost for Seattle was the return of its run game. Carlos Hyde rushed for 79 yards and a 2yard TD run in the third quarter, and Seattle finished with 165 yards rushing.
Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins couldn’t rekindle the magic from their lastsecond touchdown to beat Buffalo last Sunday. Murray was 29for42 for 269 yards and two TDs for Arizona ( 64), but Seattle was able to get the kind of pressure on the QB that was missing from the first meeting.
Raiders update: The Raiders have 10 players on the reserve/ COVID19 list, including six defensive starters, as they prepare to face the Super Bowlchampion Chiefs this weekend.
Though many of the sidelined Raiders could be cleared to play, defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said the absence of so many players from practice is impacting Las Vegas’ preparations.
“It’s tough,” Guenther said. “It’s tough enough when you have a full allotment of guys at practice. You’ve got to get them on the Zoom. It’s just not the same when you’re not taking the reps. It’ll be a big challenge for us either way, whoever can play, whenever they can get here to play to get them caught up on the plans of those things.”
COVID19 list: Eagles wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside, running back Corey Clement and defensive end Vinny Curry and Vikings fullback C. J. Ham were added to the reserve/ COVID19 list.
Among the players activated from thee COVID19 list were tight end Tyler Kroft, safety Dean Marlowe and cornerback Levi Wallace of the Bills and Chiefs tackles Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz. Injury update: Lions running back D’Andre Swift, who had 149 yards total offense against Washington on Sunday, is in concussion protocol. That puts his availability for Sunday’s game against the Panthers in doubt. ... ... Jets cornerback Brian Poole will have shoulder surgery and miss the rest of the season, head coach Adam Gase said. ... The list of players placed on injured reserve includes Cardinals defensive tackles Corey Peters ( seasonending knee injury) and Jordan Phillips ( hamstring), Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar ( knee), Washington tackle Geron Christian ( knee), Jaguars cornerback CJ Henderson ( groin) and Bears punt returner Dwayne Harris ( triceps). Briefly: Fans will not be allowed to attend the RavensTitans game in Baltimore on Sunday because of the spike of positive coronavirus tests in Maryland. The Ravens had slightly more than 4,000 fans at their previous home game against the Steelers on Nov. 1. ... The Seahawks’ home stadium has been renamed Lumen Field. The stadium previously was named CenturyLink Field, but the company rebranded as Lumen Technologies this year.