It was a game filled with injuries, penalties and one spectacular play made by the wrong team.
The Arizona Cardinals fell to the Seattle Seahawks in a frustrating 22-16 game on Thursday Night Football at University of Phoenix Stadium. It was a game in which the Cards might have lost three players for the rest of the season -- and a game in which star Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman might have suffered a season-ending Achilles injury, as well. And it was a game in which the two teams combined for 21 penalties and 166 penalty yards.
The Cardinals are now 0-10-1 since the beginning of the 2016 season in games in which they had a chance to move above .500. Here are three big takeaways from Thursday's loss, which dropped the Cardinals to 4-5 on the season.
1. Cards drop the ball
Backup QB Drew Stanton was far from perfect Thursday night -- and running back Adrian Peterson's paltry 29 yards on 21 carries didn't help -- but Stanton's numbers (24 of 47, 273 yards and a touchdown) would have been much better if Cardinals receivers could simply catch the ball.
In total, eight passes were dropped by six different receivers in Arizona's loss -- including a deep throw to J.J. Nelson that should have been a touchdown and given the Cards the lead late in the first half. If your receivers aren't catching the ball, there's not much else you can do. Such was the case for Mr. Stanton on Thursday.
2. Russell Wilson is a magician
The Cardinals actually did a pretty good job of pressuring Seahawks QB Russell Wilson for most of the game. They sacked him five times and kept him from picking up a lot of yards with his feet.
But Wilson made one play on Thursday that broke the Cardinals' back. On a third-down play early in the fourth quarter, Wilson bought enough time to make this throw that receiver Doug Baldwin turned into a 58-yard gain. Wilson threw a touchdown pass to tight end Jimmy Graham on the very next play to give Seattle a 22-10 lead.
THAT. WAS. UNBELIEVABLE.
QB wizardry, by @DangeRussWilson!#SEAvsAZ #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/L9IY843Jfr
— NFL (@NFL) November 10, 2017
3. Fitz becomes Mr. 15,000
Larry Fitzgerald has never cared about individual accolades -- and after Thursday's loss, he's unlikely to care about this one, either.
Nonetheless, we have to mention that Fitzgerald has become the sixth man in NFL history (and the second youngest in history) to record 15,000 career receiving yards. He accomplished the milestone with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.
For the game, Fitzgerald caught 10 passes for 113 yards -- but it wasn't enough for a win, and that's all Fitz probably cares about.
