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Takeaways from Seahawks' Week 4 nail-biter win vs. Cardinals

After surrendering a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, the Seattle Seahawks hung on in a 23-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Connor Benintendi|
Sep 25, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) runs against the Arizona Cardinals in the third quarter at State Farm Stadium.
Sep 25, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) runs against the Arizona Cardinals in the third quarter at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

Two stress-free wins in a row would’ve been too good to be true. The Seattle Seahawks dominated the Arizona Cardinals for three quarters but — in classic franchise form — still needed a 52-yard game-winning field goal from Jason Myers to wrap up a 23-20 win on Sunday, Sept. 25, at State Farm Stadium.

The Seahawks moved to 3-1 overall (1-1 NFC West) with the win, earning their third straight victory to vault them to second in the division. Arizona (2-2, 0-2 NFC West) lost its second straight game in the division despite an impressive comeback.

What looked like it was going to be a resounding win for Seattle ended in a nailbiter. Here’s what we learned from the Seahawks’ Week 4 win over the Cardinals on Sunday.

Marvin Harrison Jr. giftwraps two turnovers before leading bounce-back

Harrison, the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, appeared to be firmly in a sophomore slump for the Cardinals. Drops, miscommunications and a clear lack of confidence had hurt Harrison’s production to start the season, and it was creating problems for Arizona’s ball security.

The Seahawks got two first-half picks purely off of Harrison's mistakes, helping them get out to a 14-3 lead at halftime.

In the first quarter, Kyler Murray targeted Harrison on a deep pass over the middle. Harrison stopped on his route, sending the ball straight to Seahawks safety Coby Bryant, who was in deep centerfield. Luckily for Arizona, Bryant fumbled it back to the Cardinals on his return.

Late in the second quarter, Murray went back to Harrison on a deep slant. Harrison didn’t catch it cleanly, bobbling the ball before entering traffic. When he ran into three Seahawks defenders, the ball fell straight into the hands of Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV. That led to a Seattle touchdown with just 1:01 remaining in the first half.

Harrison came back with a vengeance in the fourth quarter. Burning Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon twice, Harrison finished with six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.

His score with 5:50 remaining in the game was Arizona’s first touchdown of the game — cutting Seattle’s lead to just seven — jumpstarting its offense and energizing its defense to get another key stop on the following possession.

The Cardinals did everything they could to get back in it, but Seattle had the luxury of the final possession.

Seahawks defense shows cracks for first time since Week 1

Seattle’s defense limited the Cardinals to just 107 total yards in the first half. There was almost nothing going right for Arizona, which got booed by its fans while heading to the locker room at halftime.

Apparently, that sparked a fire in the home team. The Cardinals scored on three of their final four drives, storming back after trailing 20-6 with just 7:06 left in the game. 

Arizona ended up with 253 total yards, as Murray finished 27-for-41 passing for 200 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. 

The Seahawks’ defense, which had been a brick wall all game, suddenly couldn’t stop a resurgent Arizona offense. The Cardinals’ 20 points were the most Seattle has allowed this season after entering the game surrendering just 15.6 points per game.

The silver lining: Seattle sacked Murray six times, including two from Uchenna Nwosu.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba held in check — until the end

Sam Darnold and the Seahawks were in a critical 3rd and 6 from their own 26-yard line, leading 20-13, with just under five minutes remaining in the game. Smith-Njigba had been quiet all night to that point, with just two catches for 21 yards.

Then the league’s second-leading receiver came alive. In one-on-one coverage, Smith-Njigba beat the cornerback down the sideline and reeled in a perfect toss from Darnold for a 36-yard gain. That helped set up a 53-yard field goal attempt by Jason Myers, which would’ve given the Seahawks a 10-point lead with 3:21 to play.

Instead, Myers missed it. But Smith-Njigba did his job to get the offense into position.

Once the Cardinals tied the game at 20-20 with 38 seconds left, the Seahawks got a gift from Arizona kicker Chad Ryland. His ensuing kickoff landed short of the 20-yard line, outside the landing zone, which places the ball at the 40-yard line.

On 2nd and 10 with 23 seconds left, Smith-Njigba hauled in a 22-yard pass from Darnold to get to Arizona’s 38-yard line. A short Zach Charbonnet run set up the game-winning field goal after that.

After being held without a catch in the first half, Smith-Njigba finished with four catches for 79 yards. In just four games, he now has 26 receptions for 402 yards and a touchdown on the season. 

Despite production, Seahawks run game leaves room to be desired

Seattle entered the game against the Cardinals averaging just 2.6 yards per carry through the first three games of the season. Week 4 was slightly better, but it is still far from where offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak likely wants them to be.

Minus a 24-yard Darnold scamper, the Seahawks totaled 34 carries for 121 yards (3.6 yards per carry) on designed runs against the Cardinals. Kenneth Walker III led the running back room with 19 carries for 81 yards (4.3 yards per carry), while Zach Charbonnet totaled just 39 yards on 12 carries.

It’s an area that head coach Mike Macdonald spoke about on Monday as a need-to-fix weakness of the offense. This wasn’t exactly a step forward.

Up Next

The Seahawks have a mini bye before facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-0) at home in Week 5 on Sunday, Oct. 5. 

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Connor Benintendi
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