Arizona Cardinals did more than enough to emerge victorious in Week 18
By Jim Koch
The Arizona Cardinals headed into their Week 18 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks with absolutely nothing to play for. That mattered very little to the feisty Redbirds, a collection of hungry individuals who performed as if a playoff spot was on the line.
Unfortunately, Arizona ended up on the losing end of a 21-20 decision to Seattle. The only one who stood in the way of a season-ending triumph for the squad was Matt Prater, the veteran placekicker who had been fairly reliable all year long. That wasn't true on Sunday, however, when the 39-year-old's two shanked field-goal attempts in the matchup's final three minutes prevented Arizona from winning.
Once again, Cards quarterback Kyler Murray was magnificent. Following an underwhelming first half, the two-time Pro Bowler came up huge in the final two quarters. When all was said and done, Murray had completed 73.3% of his throws for 262 yards and a touchdown, and added another 33 yards on the ground.
James Conner, the Cardinals' battering ram of a running back, enjoyed another outstanding outing versus the Seahawks. The 6 foot 1, 233 pounder rushed for 150 yards and a score, and contributed another 54 yards on four receptions. The big news was that Conner reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in his NFL career during the season's final contest.
Fantastic performances by several Arizona Cardinals should've resulted in a Week 18 triumph
Wide receiver Michael Wilson ended his rookie season with a bang, hauling in six passes for 95 yards. Arizona's promising tight end duo, Trey McBride and Elijah Higgins, combined for five catches, 66 receiving yards, and a touchdown. The offensive line was once again terrific, opening crater-sized holes for Conner, and allowing just one sack of Murray.
The Cards defense showed up as well, holding its own against a vaunted Seattle scoring attack. Safety Budda Baker had one of his best performances of the campaign with 10 tackles. Coordinator Nick Rallis' undermanned unit held a Seahawks offense featuring D.K. Metcalf, Kenneth Walker III, Geno Smith, and Tyler Lockett to just 327 total yards.
It was a darn shame that an Arizona victory was wiped away by the miscues of a kicker. In reality, "Big Red" topped Seattle in just about every statistical category. The scoreboard would disagree, but this past Sunday's clash with the division rival certainly felt like a win for our gutsy band of Cardinals.
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(Statistics provided by ESPN.com)