Highlights From Win vs. Seattle
The Cardinals 27-21 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday marked the team’s first victory over Seattle since 10/24/04, a 25-17 win at home for the Cards.
The win was also the Cardinals second consecutive win overall and at home. The last time the Cards won back-to-back games was 2004, at Miami (11/7, 24-23) and vs. New York Giants (11/14, 17-4).
The last time the Cards won three in a row was 2002:
9/29 vs. NYG W, 21-7
10/6 @ Car W, 16-13
10/20 vs. Dal W, 9-6 (OT)
The last time the Cards won three straight home games was 1999:
11/14 vs. Det W, 23-19
11/21 vs. Dal W, 13-9
12/5 vs. Phi W, 21-7
The Seahawks entered last week’s game with an 8-4 record. It was the first time the Cards won against an opponent with a winning record since 11/14/04, when they defeated the then 5-3 New York Giants 17-14.
The last time the Cardinals defeated a team with a record of 8-4 or better in December was a 34-31 overtime win at Oakland on Dec. 2, 2001. The Raiders came into the game with an 8-2 record and 10 consecutive wins at home against NFC teams. The Cards entered the game at 4-6 and won on a Bill Gramatica 36-yard field goal at Network Associates Coliseum.
The Cardinals are 4-9 overall but 3-2 in their division, tied for the most wins in the NFC West with Seattle. The Cards divisional finale will come in two weeks as the team travels to San Francisco. The Cards opened their 2006 season with a 34-27 win over the 49ers.
Edgerrin James recorded his second 100-yard game on Sunday. It marked the first time since 2003 that the Cardinals had a 100-yard rusher in consecutive games. Marcel Shipp hit the century mark vs. San Francisco (10/26, 35-165) and the following week vs. Cincinnati (11/2, 29-141).
The last Cardinal with three straight 100-yard rushing games was Stump Mitchell in 1987.
James needs 75 yards to become the first Cardinals running back to reach 1,000 yards in a season since Adrian Murrell recorded 1,042 in 1998. It would mark James’ 6th 1,000 yard season in eight as a pro.
James’ back-to-back 100-yard games came with identical numbers. In St. Louis, James rushed 26 times for 115 yards, a week later vs. Seattle, James ran 26 times for 115 yards and a touchdown. When he rushes for 100 yards, James is 45-6.
The Cardinals offensive line did not allow a sack vs. Seattle. While they had six-one sack contests, it was the first time all season that Arizona held an opponent without a sack. It was also the first time Seattle failed to record a sack.
In the last five games, the Cards have given up only four sacks. The Cards sack-free game came as RT Reggie Wells, Matt Leinart’s blindside tackle, was suffering from the flu. Wells needed intravenous fluids to play and after the win was presented with the game ball from head coach Dennis Green. The last time the Cards did not allow a sack was 11/13/05 in Detroit.
The Cardinals offensive line has played with the same combination of starters for four consecutive games, the longest string for the Cardinals in 2006. In those four games, the Cardinals have allowed three sacks while the defense has recorded 13.
Last Four Games
Sacks Sacks Allowed
vs. Det 4 1
@ Min 2 1
@ StL 4 1
vs. Sea 3 0
Total 13 3
Here’s a breakdown of the Cardinals starting offensive lines since the beginning of the season.
LT LG C RG RT Games
L. Davis Wells Stepanovich M. Brown Liwienski 1
L. Davis Liwienski Stepanovich M. Brown Wells 2
L. Davis Wells Stepanovich M. Brown Ross 3-5
L. Davis Wells Leckey Liwienski Ross 6-7
L. Davis Liwienski Leckey Lutui Wells 8-9
L. Davis M. Brown Leckey Lutui Wells 10-13
In his five most recent games against the Cardinals before last weekend, Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander averaged 139.4 yards and 22.6 carries a game, an average of 6.1 yards a rush. Alexander also averaged two touchdowns a game against the Cardinals.
On Sunday, the Cards defense held Alexander to 76 yards on 22 carries with no touchdowns and a 3.5 average. They also forced an Alexander first quarter fumble that led to Arizona’s second touchdown of the day. Alexander’s 76 yards were his fewest against the Cardinals since 10/24/04.
Alexander vs. Arizona (Since 2004)
Date Att Yds Avg TD
10/24/04 12 65 5.4 0
12/26/04 30 154 5.1 3
9/25/05 22 140 6.4 4
11/6/05 23 173 7.5 2
9/17/06 26 89 3.4 1
Average 22.6 139.4 6.1 2
12/10/06 22 76 3.5 0
Anquan Boldin recorded four receptions for 47 yards against the Seahawks and needs only 33 yards to reach 1,000 for the third time in his four-year career. Roy Green is the only other person in team history to record three 1,000-yard seasons (1,227 – 1983, 1,555 – 1984, 1,097 – 1988).
If Boldin and James both reach their respective 1,000-yard marks, it would be only the 5th time in franchise history that the team has had both a 1,000 yard receiver and running back in the same year.
Year Running Back Yards Receiver Yards
1998 Adrian Murrell 1,042 Frank Sanders 1,145
1984 Ottis Anderson 1,174 Roy Green 1,555
1983 Ottis Anderson 1,270 Roy Green 1,227
1981 Ottis Anderson 1,376 Pat Tilley 1,040
Larry Fitzgerald missed three games in October with a hamstring injury but has returned to full strength in the last five games, three of them wins.
Fitzgerald is averaging 13.1 yards on each of his 31 catches in those five games and has had a key TD in each of the last two contests. Included in that 5-game stretch is an 11-catch, 172-yard effort in his homecoming to Minnesota on 11/26.
Yesterday, he led the Cardinals with 7 catches (79 yards) and his 5-yard TD from Matt Leinart on the first play of the 4th quarter allowed the Cardinals to re-claim a lead they would not relinquish.
The Cardinals forced four fumbles against Seattle and recovered three. The three lost fumbles were the most the Seahawks gave up all season. It was the second time this season that the Cards defense recovered three opponent fumbles.
The Cards defense has forced 28 total turnovers (15 fumble recoveries and 13 interceptions), the fourth-most in the NFL.
Team Fum. Int. Total
Chicago 18 21 39
Baltimore 10 22 32
Minnesota 13 18 31
Arizona 15 13 28
New England 11 16 27
The Cards 28 takeaways already surpass last year’s total of 26 with three games remaining. The franchise record for takeaways in a season is 54, set in 1949 when the Cards defense recorded 33 interceptions and 21 fumble recoveries.
Matt Leinart and Denver’s Jay Cutler were drafted with consecutive picks in this year’s NFL Draft. Leinart was taken with the 10th overall pick while Denver traded up to take Cutler with the 11th. Both rookies have taken over as their team’s starting quarterback after beginning the season on the bench. Leinart will be making his 10th start of the season while Cutler will be making his third this week.
Here’s a breakdown of Leinart and Cutler’s numbers as a starting quarterback as well as their average numbers per game:
Name Starts Comp Att Yards Comp % TD INT Sack/Yards
Leinart 9 179 320 2,117 55.9 10 9 16/126
Cutler 2 27 51 331 52.9 4 2 7/44
Leinart Avg/Game Cutler
35.5 Attempts 25.5
19.8 Comp. 13.5
235.2 Yards 165.5
54.2 Comp % 52.0
1.1 TD 2
1 INT 1
1.7/14 Sack/Yards 3.5/22
Leinart has 2,171 passing yards and needs 33 to pass Jake Plummer (2,203) for the most by a rookie in franchise history.
Bryant Johnson has three plays of over 50 yards this season including last week’s 56-yard touchdown on the Cardinals first offensive play from scrimmage. Johnson has recorded career-highs in yardage and touchdowns this season with 31 receptions for 578 yards and four touchdowns.
Johnson’s 18.6 average ranks third in the NFL in average yards per reception among receivers with 30+ catches behind Donte’ Stallworth and Antonio Bryant.
Name Rec. Yards Avg TDs
Donte’ Stallworth 34 669 19.7 5
Antonio Bryant 38 717 18.9 3
Bryant Johnson 31 578 18.6 4
Defensive end Chike Okeafor has recorded 4.5 of his 5.5 sacks this season in the last four games. Okeafor has had at least one sack in three of the last four games. Since the Cardinals placed Bertrand Berry on injured reserve on 11/23, Okeafor has recorded 3.5 sacks. Against Seattle, Okeafor beat Walter Jones to record a key sack of Matt Hasselbeck on 3rd down of Seattle’s last possession of the game that forced a 4th-and-20.
With Pro Bowl voting ending for fans tomorrow (12/12), Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson is sizing Tommy Bahama shirts. In the last three games Wilson has recovered two opponent fumbles and forced one in addition to an interception in St. Louis. The sixth-year pro has recorded four sacks and four interceptions in 2006, one of only two players in the NFL to record those numbers (Kerry Rhodes, NYJ). Wilson recorded a key stop on Seattle’s Deion Branch on 4th-and-20 on Seattle’s last play of the game to preserve the Cardinals 27-21 lead.
Linebacker Gerald Hayes needed five tackles in last week’s game for his first career 100-tackle season. Hayes finished the day with seven stops for 102 tackles on the season. In his first three seasons as a pro, Hayes recorded 48 total tackles.
The NFL Network will be replaying last week’s Cardinals win over Seattle. The game is one of three NFL games that will be replayed. The Cards game can be seen on Tuesday at 8:30 PM (MST). The NFL Network will also show the Jaguars win over Indianapolis and New Orleans’ win against Dallas. Here’s the complete replay schedule:
IND @ JAC - Tuesday @ 6:00 PM MST
SEA @ ARI (in HD) - Tuesday @ 8:30 PM MST
NO @ DAL (in HD) - Wednesday @ 6:00 PM MST
The Cardinals 27-21 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday marked the team’s first victory over Seattle since 10/24/04, a 25-17 win at home for the Cards.
The win was also the Cardinals second consecutive win overall and at home. The last time the Cards won back-to-back games was 2004, at Miami (11/7, 24-23) and vs. New York Giants (11/14, 17-4).
The last time the Cards won three in a row was 2002:
9/29 vs. NYG W, 21-7
10/6 @ Car W, 16-13
10/20 vs. Dal W, 9-6 (OT)
The last time the Cards won three straight home games was 1999:
11/14 vs. Det W, 23-19
11/21 vs. Dal W, 13-9
12/5 vs. Phi W, 21-7
The Seahawks entered last week’s game with an 8-4 record. It was the first time the Cards won against an opponent with a winning record since 11/14/04, when they defeated the then 5-3 New York Giants 17-14.
The last time the Cardinals defeated a team with a record of 8-4 or better in December was a 34-31 overtime win at Oakland on Dec. 2, 2001. The Raiders came into the game with an 8-2 record and 10 consecutive wins at home against NFC teams. The Cards entered the game at 4-6 and won on a Bill Gramatica 36-yard field goal at Network Associates Coliseum.
The Cardinals are 4-9 overall but 3-2 in their division, tied for the most wins in the NFC West with Seattle. The Cards divisional finale will come in two weeks as the team travels to San Francisco. The Cards opened their 2006 season with a 34-27 win over the 49ers.
Edgerrin James recorded his second 100-yard game on Sunday. It marked the first time since 2003 that the Cardinals had a 100-yard rusher in consecutive games. Marcel Shipp hit the century mark vs. San Francisco (10/26, 35-165) and the following week vs. Cincinnati (11/2, 29-141).
The last Cardinal with three straight 100-yard rushing games was Stump Mitchell in 1987.
James needs 75 yards to become the first Cardinals running back to reach 1,000 yards in a season since Adrian Murrell recorded 1,042 in 1998. It would mark James’ 6th 1,000 yard season in eight as a pro.
James’ back-to-back 100-yard games came with identical numbers. In St. Louis, James rushed 26 times for 115 yards, a week later vs. Seattle, James ran 26 times for 115 yards and a touchdown. When he rushes for 100 yards, James is 45-6.
The Cardinals offensive line did not allow a sack vs. Seattle. While they had six-one sack contests, it was the first time all season that Arizona held an opponent without a sack. It was also the first time Seattle failed to record a sack.
In the last five games, the Cards have given up only four sacks. The Cards sack-free game came as RT Reggie Wells, Matt Leinart’s blindside tackle, was suffering from the flu. Wells needed intravenous fluids to play and after the win was presented with the game ball from head coach Dennis Green. The last time the Cards did not allow a sack was 11/13/05 in Detroit.
The Cardinals offensive line has played with the same combination of starters for four consecutive games, the longest string for the Cardinals in 2006. In those four games, the Cardinals have allowed three sacks while the defense has recorded 13.
Last Four Games
Sacks Sacks Allowed
vs. Det 4 1
@ Min 2 1
@ StL 4 1
vs. Sea 3 0
Total 13 3
Here’s a breakdown of the Cardinals starting offensive lines since the beginning of the season.
LT LG C RG RT Games
L. Davis Wells Stepanovich M. Brown Liwienski 1
L. Davis Liwienski Stepanovich M. Brown Wells 2
L. Davis Wells Stepanovich M. Brown Ross 3-5
L. Davis Wells Leckey Liwienski Ross 6-7
L. Davis Liwienski Leckey Lutui Wells 8-9
L. Davis M. Brown Leckey Lutui Wells 10-13
In his five most recent games against the Cardinals before last weekend, Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander averaged 139.4 yards and 22.6 carries a game, an average of 6.1 yards a rush. Alexander also averaged two touchdowns a game against the Cardinals.
On Sunday, the Cards defense held Alexander to 76 yards on 22 carries with no touchdowns and a 3.5 average. They also forced an Alexander first quarter fumble that led to Arizona’s second touchdown of the day. Alexander’s 76 yards were his fewest against the Cardinals since 10/24/04.
Alexander vs. Arizona (Since 2004)
Date Att Yds Avg TD
10/24/04 12 65 5.4 0
12/26/04 30 154 5.1 3
9/25/05 22 140 6.4 4
11/6/05 23 173 7.5 2
9/17/06 26 89 3.4 1
Average 22.6 139.4 6.1 2
12/10/06 22 76 3.5 0
Anquan Boldin recorded four receptions for 47 yards against the Seahawks and needs only 33 yards to reach 1,000 for the third time in his four-year career. Roy Green is the only other person in team history to record three 1,000-yard seasons (1,227 – 1983, 1,555 – 1984, 1,097 – 1988).
If Boldin and James both reach their respective 1,000-yard marks, it would be only the 5th time in franchise history that the team has had both a 1,000 yard receiver and running back in the same year.
Year Running Back Yards Receiver Yards
1998 Adrian Murrell 1,042 Frank Sanders 1,145
1984 Ottis Anderson 1,174 Roy Green 1,555
1983 Ottis Anderson 1,270 Roy Green 1,227
1981 Ottis Anderson 1,376 Pat Tilley 1,040
Larry Fitzgerald missed three games in October with a hamstring injury but has returned to full strength in the last five games, three of them wins.
Fitzgerald is averaging 13.1 yards on each of his 31 catches in those five games and has had a key TD in each of the last two contests. Included in that 5-game stretch is an 11-catch, 172-yard effort in his homecoming to Minnesota on 11/26.
Yesterday, he led the Cardinals with 7 catches (79 yards) and his 5-yard TD from Matt Leinart on the first play of the 4th quarter allowed the Cardinals to re-claim a lead they would not relinquish.
The Cardinals forced four fumbles against Seattle and recovered three. The three lost fumbles were the most the Seahawks gave up all season. It was the second time this season that the Cards defense recovered three opponent fumbles.
The Cards defense has forced 28 total turnovers (15 fumble recoveries and 13 interceptions), the fourth-most in the NFL.
Team Fum. Int. Total
Chicago 18 21 39
Baltimore 10 22 32
Minnesota 13 18 31
Arizona 15 13 28
New England 11 16 27
The Cards 28 takeaways already surpass last year’s total of 26 with three games remaining. The franchise record for takeaways in a season is 54, set in 1949 when the Cards defense recorded 33 interceptions and 21 fumble recoveries.
Matt Leinart and Denver’s Jay Cutler were drafted with consecutive picks in this year’s NFL Draft. Leinart was taken with the 10th overall pick while Denver traded up to take Cutler with the 11th. Both rookies have taken over as their team’s starting quarterback after beginning the season on the bench. Leinart will be making his 10th start of the season while Cutler will be making his third this week.
Here’s a breakdown of Leinart and Cutler’s numbers as a starting quarterback as well as their average numbers per game:
Name Starts Comp Att Yards Comp % TD INT Sack/Yards
Leinart 9 179 320 2,117 55.9 10 9 16/126
Cutler 2 27 51 331 52.9 4 2 7/44
Leinart Avg/Game Cutler
35.5 Attempts 25.5
19.8 Comp. 13.5
235.2 Yards 165.5
54.2 Comp % 52.0
1.1 TD 2
1 INT 1
1.7/14 Sack/Yards 3.5/22
Leinart has 2,171 passing yards and needs 33 to pass Jake Plummer (2,203) for the most by a rookie in franchise history.
Bryant Johnson has three plays of over 50 yards this season including last week’s 56-yard touchdown on the Cardinals first offensive play from scrimmage. Johnson has recorded career-highs in yardage and touchdowns this season with 31 receptions for 578 yards and four touchdowns.
Johnson’s 18.6 average ranks third in the NFL in average yards per reception among receivers with 30+ catches behind Donte’ Stallworth and Antonio Bryant.
Name Rec. Yards Avg TDs
Donte’ Stallworth 34 669 19.7 5
Antonio Bryant 38 717 18.9 3
Bryant Johnson 31 578 18.6 4
Defensive end Chike Okeafor has recorded 4.5 of his 5.5 sacks this season in the last four games. Okeafor has had at least one sack in three of the last four games. Since the Cardinals placed Bertrand Berry on injured reserve on 11/23, Okeafor has recorded 3.5 sacks. Against Seattle, Okeafor beat Walter Jones to record a key sack of Matt Hasselbeck on 3rd down of Seattle’s last possession of the game that forced a 4th-and-20.
With Pro Bowl voting ending for fans tomorrow (12/12), Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson is sizing Tommy Bahama shirts. In the last three games Wilson has recovered two opponent fumbles and forced one in addition to an interception in St. Louis. The sixth-year pro has recorded four sacks and four interceptions in 2006, one of only two players in the NFL to record those numbers (Kerry Rhodes, NYJ). Wilson recorded a key stop on Seattle’s Deion Branch on 4th-and-20 on Seattle’s last play of the game to preserve the Cardinals 27-21 lead.
Linebacker Gerald Hayes needed five tackles in last week’s game for his first career 100-tackle season. Hayes finished the day with seven stops for 102 tackles on the season. In his first three seasons as a pro, Hayes recorded 48 total tackles.
The NFL Network will be replaying last week’s Cardinals win over Seattle. The game is one of three NFL games that will be replayed. The Cards game can be seen on Tuesday at 8:30 PM (MST). The NFL Network will also show the Jaguars win over Indianapolis and New Orleans’ win against Dallas. Here’s the complete replay schedule:
IND @ JAC - Tuesday @ 6:00 PM MST
SEA @ ARI (in HD) - Tuesday @ 8:30 PM MST
NO @ DAL (in HD) - Wednesday @ 6:00 PM MST
!
