GLENDALE, Ariz. — When the Seattle Seahawks win on the road, which is quite often under coach Mike Macdonald, the visiting locker room is akin to a rap concert with the speakers at maximum volume.

You can feel the energy in the room long before you hang a right and see any of the celebration. There were multiple microphones inches away from kicker Jason Myers’ face as he discussed his game-winning kick as time expired to give Seattle a 23-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night at State Farm Stadium. You can hear Florida rapper BossMan Dlow’s rhymes just as clearly as Myers’ responses.

The one player you can always hear loud and clear is cornerback Devon Witherspoon, Seattle’s 185-pound jolt of energy. You can take the team’s pulse by watching Witherspoon, and when he hollered in the locker room Thursday night, it reflected how everyone was feeling after Sam Darnold and the offense led a last-minute drive to secure a third straight victory.

“Sammy Deee!”

Darnold and the Seahawks failed on their first attempt at a game-winning drive this season when the quarterback fumbled inside the San Francisco 49ers’ 10-yard line in Week 1. Everyone knew a different result was on the way Thursday when the Seahawks took over at their 40-yard line with 28 seconds remaining in a tie game. Not because of blind faith, but because of a belief in two players who spent most of the summer giving one of the league’s best defenses problems: Darnold and his No. 1 receiver, Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

“He’s got some tough s— to him, man,” Witherspoon said of Darnold. “He’s got some s— to him. He made some big plays for us on offense. He just does his thing, man. He stays calm, collected, poised, and whatever we need to win the game, he’s gonna go out there and do it.”

Darnold and Smith-Njigba hooked up four times for completions of 11, 10, 36 and 22 yards, all in the second half. The final catch was a beautiful back-shoulder ball that put Seattle in field goal range and preserved the team’s last timeout because Smith-Njigba was able to dive out of bounds.

The nearest defender in coverage on all four plays was cornerback Max Melton, who was playing man coverage on three of the receptions. That last part is important because, in Seattle’s eyes, that’s an ill-advised decision, with Smith-Njigba having a major advantage.

“Somebody must ain’t watch film, bro,” Witherspoon said of playing Smith-Njigba one-on-one with the game on the line. “That’s all I can tell you.”

Said Darnold on the Amazon postgame show: “When they played man on that last play, I was kind of licking my chops. Knew I had a one-on-one to Jax.”

For the past two years, Smith-Njigba has gone out of his way to set up offseason throwing sessions with his QB1. Smith-Njigba’s logic for doing this is simple. “I want to be there for my quarterback,” he said, “and just let him know that I’m going to be open and I’m going to do my job and that you can trust me.”

In the first half, Smith-Njigba didn’t officially have a target — a backward pass in the first quarter was counted as a rushing attempt — and had three carries for 11 yards. He knew his time was coming, in part because of the chemistry he has built with his new quarterback.

Darnold’s faith in Smith-Njigba is one of the reasons the Seahawks are 3-1. Seattle’s $100 million man had been as advertised through three weeks, effectively operating the offense with accuracy and quality decision-making.

On Thursday, he checked another box Seattle had in mind when acquiring him this offseason: clutch playmaking. On third-and-6 from the Seattle 26 with 4:58 to play, Darnold unleashed a perfectly placed long ball to Smith-Njigba to help put Seattle in scoring position, leading 20-13. The drive ended with Myers missing a field goal, but because Darnold can make those types of throws, the Seahawks feel they always have a chance to win. It’s fitting that another perfect ball to Smith-Njigba led to the winning boot.

“(Darnold) is very calm, cool and collected,” left tackle Charles Cross said. “He makes the right reads. He’s in his zone. I feel like he throws dimes in those moments. Sam is doing a great job coming in and being a leader and being poised in high-pressure moments.”

Said Macdonald: “Sam’s playing out of his mind right now.”

Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 22-yard catch against Max Melton put the Seahawks in range for the winning field goal. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

The other, equally important, reason the Seahawks are 3-1 is a defense that’s tough to score on, as Arizona experiencd for the first 50 minutes of the game. The Cardinals had just six points through three quarters, then had scoring drives of 73 and 57 yards on their two possessions in the final frame.

Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray threw two interceptions and was sacked six times but remained undeterred in crunch time, delivering several big-time plays, some at the expense of Witherspoon, Seattle’s two-time Pro Bowl corner. Murray and receiver Marvin Harrison Jr hooked up on a 16-yard touchdown with Witherspoon in coverage with 5:55 left to play, then got Witherspoon again for 18 yards on third-and-5 to set up the game-tying score (Harrison’s touchdown was preceded by a 15-yard defensive pass interference penalty on Riq Woolen, who drew three flags on Thursday).

“They made some big catches in some big-time moments, and we’ve just got to be better in those moments,” Witherspoon said. “We take pride (as DBs), and we’ve got to make those plays. We’ll be better — especially me; I’ve got to be better.”

The Seahawks are allowing only 16.8 points per game, the fourth-lowest mark in the league. They’re the only team that hasn’t allowed a rushing touchdown, and their performance in that regard was again excellent Thursday night. Arizona’s three running backs combined for 44 yards on 11 attempts (Murray had 41 rushing yards, though 38 came on four scrambles).

It was Seattle’s second game with multiple interceptions, and the defense has recorded one in every game. This game was similar to Week 1’s nail-biter in that lapses by Seahawks defensive backs allowed the opponent back in the game. Without those sorts of plays, it’s difficult to move the ball and score points on Macdonald’s defense.

“We played stout for 95 percent of the game,” safety Julian Love said. “It’s just making sure those deep (go) balls we can get a handle on.”

This game probably shouldn’t have come down to the final play. Seattle was in control most of the night because it bottled up Arizona’s run game, limited explosive plays, harassed Murray and moved the ball on the Cardinals’ improved defense. But there were times Seattle couldn’t get out of its own way offensively, and those plays will likely stick out when Macdonald reviews the game with his offense.

They should have turned linebacker Ernest Jones IV’s interception in the second quarter into a touchdown drive. But running back Ken Walker III was flagged for taunting on the ensuing possession. Instead of third-and-3 at the Arizona 25, Seattle faced third-and-18 from the 40. The next play was a screen pass that lost 4 yards. Seattle punted.

In the fourth quarter, Smith-Njigba was flagged for a holding call that negated Zach Charbonnet’s 7-yard touchdown run. Instead of taking a 24-6 lead with 11:43 remaining, Seattle settled for a field goal.

Darnold had been sacked just three times in three games coming into Week 4. He was sacked three times on Thursday night.

And yet, the arrow is pointing up for the Seahawks because of all the things that are working so well. Darnold is playing great football (without getting consistent help from the run game, which is a concern). Smith-Njigba is nearly impossible to keep in check for an entire game. Tight end AJ Barner is an effective red zone weapon. The defense is forcing teams to fight for every yard on the ground. The back seven is snatching balls out of the air every week. The Seahawks are consistently winning on the road. This is what Year 2 of the Macdonald era is supposed to be.

“The foundation is right,” said defensive tackle Leonard Williams, who had 1.5 sacks Thursday. “The growth of the team and the direction we’re heading is right. The record is obviously great to have, but to me that’s the big picture.

“I’ve just got to give a lot of props and credit to Coach Mike. Since OTAs and being in his second year, he’s taken a lot more demand and charge of the team. He hit a lot of points on the type of team and play style he wants us to play. We took it to heart. We take ownership in the team as well as the players, and I think we made that culture ours and we’re making it grow.”

(Top photo of Sam Darnold: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)