In one of the less artful games in recent Seahawks history, there was at least one moment of undeniable beauty.
Or as coach Pete Carroll called it: “A damn circus hold.”
And that play – Jake Bobo’s two-toe tap in the back of the end zone – as well as Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s first career touchdown, combined with strong defense, was enough to overcome three turnovers and bring Seattle within 20-10- Victory over Arizona at Lumen Field.
The three turnovers were as many as Seattle has had in its first five games combined and more than the Seahawks have had in any game since the second game of the 2022 season.
Postgame coverage Seahawks 20, Cardinals 10
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In Arizona, however, there were none, making it as difficult as possible for Seattle to win a game.
“It’s so hard to win, minus-3 in a game,” Carroll said.
In fact, Seattle hadn’t done this since one of the most memorable games in team history – the 2014 NFC title game victory over Green Bay, when the Seahawks, despite losing five turnovers, won two against the Packers.
But they did it thanks to a defense that allowed just 249 total yards and held Arizona to 26 yards or fewer on 10 of its 11 drives.
And they won because they did just enough on offense, highlighted by Bobo’s 18-yard TD catch from Geno Smith with 4:41 left in the second quarter that gave Seattle the lead for good, 14-10.
Bobo, who took on a larger role with DK Metcalf sidelined with rib and hip injuries, was in man coverage against Arizona cornerback Starling Thomas V on the right side on a play that required him to make a double play.
Bobo did, but didn’t get much separation. Smith threw it to him anyway, and with Thomas all the way on top of him, Bobo somehow caught the ball by planting his left foot about 12 inches in front of the pitch and then dragging his right foot just as it went out of bounds.
But the officials didn’t see it that way at first and thought it was incomplete.
As Bobo got up from the field, he asked field judge Trawick Boger if it was close.
“He said ‘very close,'” Bobo remembers.
As assistant coaches Carl Smith and Nate Carroll got additional insight into the replay in the press box, they implored Carroll to raise his challenge flag.
“Nate and Carl screamed in my ear until the end that they wanted to challenge it,” Carroll said.
Eventually he did, to the delight of the 68,781 at Lumen Field and the rest of the team.
“I couldn’t say,” Carroll said. “We saw it on the sidelines and saw what they showed on the board. I was just trying to gauge whether they would give us a chance to really look at the thing. You’ve given it a lot of thought. At the moment it’s a question of whether he’ll make it or not. But it looked like the right decision. That’s why we challenged it. We tried it.”
Bobo could do nothing but hope as the officials examined the replay.
“Just give it to me,” he said as he thought.
Finally they did, the officials overturned the verdict and awarded Bobo the second TD of his NFL career.
“Gosh, it was a great throw and a great catch under duress and everything,” Carroll said. “It was a fantastic game.”
However, Seattle only scored six more points until the end of the game thanks to two field goals from Jason Myers, while the Cardinals team fell to 1:6 and was considered a nine-point favorite until the last two minutes. This was largely due to two second-half turnovers by Smith – an interception at the 1-yard line and a fumbled snap – and the Seahawks’ inability to recover after a first-and-goal at the 1 on their first drive of the season to score a score in the second half.
Smith now has three interceptions in the last two games. On Sunday, he tried to turn left and hit Bobo at the goal line, only to throw it to Arizona’s Garrett Williams instead. Smith said his arm was hit, changing the ball’s trajectory.
But Carroll said he shouldn’t have tried to throw.
“He’s sick about it,” Carroll said. “He should have just eaten the football or run straight away with the football. These are the possibilities.”
In the fourth quarter, Smith simply fumbled a snap as the team tried to speed up.
“Fast and we didn’t handle it right,” Carroll said.
Smith said: “That can’t happen if our defense is put in difficult situations. Luckily we have a great defense that continues to be there and show us that they have backbone no matter what the situation is or what it looks like.”
In fact, the defense repeatedly bailed out the offense, allowing just three points off of three turnovers (including a fumbled punt by DeeJay Dallas in the first quarter).
The defense has allowed just 30 points in the last three games and is allowing just 4.7 yards per play this season, well below the 5.5 yards last season. That includes holding each of the last three opponents to 4.0 yards or less.
The fact that two of those three teams – the Giants and Bengals – were in the bottom four in total offense heading into the weekend cannot be ignored. Arizona also can’t be in full rebuild mode and continue with backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who is now 1-8 in his career as a starter.
To put it simply, much tougher tests lie ahead.
But the Seahawks also feel like they’re building something. The secondary is thriving with the return of Jamal Adams and the emergence of rookie Devon Witherspoon, allowing the Seahawks to play in nickel-and-dime formations for much of the game.
Witherspoon continued his hard-hitting, playful style throughout and might have had another Player of the Week-type performance if a sack and an interception hadn’t been negated by off-play penalties.
“The spoon was out there,” Carroll said. “Two great plays, another great hit, three great plays in the game. Unfortunately, the penalties negate these plays. But you know he’s out there.”
Adams felt dizzy after playing his second full game back from the quadriceps tear that cost him all but one game of the 2022 season.
“If we keep it up, the sky’s the limit,” Adams said of the way the defense comes together.
How high was he asked?
“The highest of all heights,” he said. “A Super Bowl, that’s our goal. But one game at a time. That is our approach. We don’t look forward, we don’t look into the past. We just try to keep our heads down, fix whatever bugs we need to fix and then move on. We still left a lot of things on the table.”
But they still ate well enough on Sunday.
Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or [email protected]; on twitter: @bcondotta. Bob Condotta covers the Seahawks for the Seattle Times. He reports on the team daily throughout the year.