The Arizona Cardinals have recovered from a second-half fightback from the Seattle Seahawks to secure a 39-32 victory in a clash between the NFC West's top two at CenturyLink Field.
The Cardinals sat top of the NFC West coming into the game and they started out on top, but after Carson Palmer's lack of patience saw a promising drive break down on the 15th play when his attempt to force the ball into the endzone was picked off by Earl Thomas, the first quarter ended scoreless despite heavy Arizona pressure.
The visitors continued to be frustrated in the second quarter as two redzone possessions yielded just a 33-yard field goal from Chandler Catanzaro, but they extended their slight advantage to 5-0 when Russell Wilson recovered from his own fumble in the endzone to concede a safety.
The game was delayed for around eight minutes after a serious-looking neck injury to Arizona guard Mike Iupati which necessitated an ambulance on the field, but soon after the restart his side went over for the first touchdown when Palmer hit Michael Floyd from 27 yards.
The same combination resulted in a second touchdown for Arizona with four minutes left in the first half when Floyd was ruled to have stayed in play upon review after another spectacular catch, but the Seahawks found their first reply when Will Tukuafu scored after a 40-yard gain from Paul Richardson.
Catanzaro drilled a 43-yard field goal with the final play of the half as the Cardinals added another three, but the course of the game changed entirely in the third quarter as the Seahawks came out a virtually unrecognisable side.
After the teams had exchanged field goals early in the third, Doug Baldwin beat Jerraud Powers to Wilson's 32-yard deep pass to bring Seattle within one touchdown, and they moved to within two points when Marshawn Lynch ran in from three yards.
What was turning out to be a nightmare second half for the Cardinals continued when Palmer was sacked on the third down and Bobby Wagner returned 22 yards for a touchdown to hand the Seahawks the lead for the first time in the game with 13 minutes to play.
However, the game turned on its head yet again in the closing stages, as after Arizona were handed a first down by a call for illegal contact, an 83-yard drive resulted in Palmer hitting Jermaine Gresham from 14 yards to silence the home crowd and put the Cardinals back in front.
With just under two minutes of game time remaining the NFC West leaders put the contest to bed through a fine 48-yard touchdown run from Andre Ellington, and though Steven Hauschka hit a late field goal, the Cardinals held on to seal a 39-32 victory and improve their record to 7-2, leaving Seattle 4-5.
Tom Nightingale
