by Kent Somers - Oct. 18, 2009 06:01 PM
The Arizona Republic
SEATTLE - The Cardinals once were as lost away from home as a tourist without a passport, map or money.
No longer
They saved their best for Qwest on Sunday, dialing up their best game of the season and beating the Seahawks 27-3 at Qwest Field.
As they've done in two earlier games, the Cardinals played well early and led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. In a new twist, they kept an
opponent down in the second half, refusing to let the Seahawks make things interesting.
"When you got your foot on someone's throat, you leave it there," outside linebacker Chike Okeafor said. "You push it in a little bit more."
The victory is the Cardinals' second in a row on the road this season and at 3-2, they are tied with the 49ers for the lead in the NFC West.
The 24-point victory margin doesn't begin to describe how the Cardinals dominated. The Seahawks gained just 14 yards rushing, the fewest in
franchise history. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who threw four touchdown passes last week, was 10 of 29 for 112 yards and was sacked five
times.
"It was tough out there offensively," Seahawks coach Jim Mora said. "I think that is probably the understatement of the world right there."
The Seahawks (2-4) didn't convert on third down (0 for 11) and had the ball for nearly 26 minutes fewer than Arizona. The Seahawks had the ball
for more than five plays just once in 13 possessions, and their longest gain of the day was a 42-yard pass on a fake punt.
"To come up here and win two years in a row is saying something," Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner said. "We're by no means there yet. I think
we know even after that game and how lopsided it was, that there was a whole bunch of stuff we could have done better."
The Cardinals couldn't have played much better in the first quarter. At the end of it, they led 14-0, and possessed the ball all but 43 seconds.
They opened the game with an 80-yard touchdown drive that deftly used both the run and the pass. Warner completed all nine of his passes on the
drive, and was 32 of 41 for 276 yards and two touchdowns for the game. His only interception came on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half
After a 2-yard touchdown pass to receiver Larry Fitzgerald gave the Cardinals the lead, they surprised Seattle with a pooch kick on the kickoff. It
sailed over the front line of the Seahawks, and rookie cornerback Greg Toler recovered at the Seattle 23.
A 2-yard run by Hightower gave the Cardinals a 14-0 lead, and a field goal in the second quarter made it 17-0.
"They played great and got us what we needed - 14 quick points," defensive end Calais Campbell said of the offense. "And that was all she wrote."
No one knew that at the time, because whomever "she" is, she's been writing much more than that this season. The Cardinals blew a 21-point lead
last week and squeaked out a victory over the Texans. They also won at Jacksonville after letting the Jaguars back in the game.
"At halftime, the first thing everybody was saying was, 'hey, man, we done been here before. Let's finish the game,' " cornerback Dominique
Rodgers-Cromartie said.
The Cardinals offense muddled around a bit in the third quarter, finally scoring a touchdown on the third possession. Receiver Steve Breaston set it
up with a 36-yard punt return that gave the Cardinals the ball at the Seahawks 41.
Five plays later, Breaston made a leaping catch for a 16-yard touchdown, giving the Cardinals a 24-3 lead.
The Seahawks never responded. Minus three starters on the offensive line because of injuries, Hasselbeck had no time to find receivers.
"I know Matt Hasselbeck is going to be soaking in an ice tub," Okeafor said. With an off week, Hasselbeck can do it all week. The Cardinals, meanwhile, travel to face the Giants, who can make an ice tub look pretty
inviting, even though they lost to the Saints on Sunday.
"I don't want to get too wrapped up," coach Ken Whisenhunt said of the victory. "It's only five games into the season. What I am excited about is
that we are playing better football. What's important is for us to continue to build off of that."
Box Score
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