Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks squeezed out a 23-20 win on Thursday over the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on “Thursday Night Football,” and it was a game-winning drive by Darnold that sealed the win.
With just 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter, one timeout remaining, and a tie game, Darnold threw a 22-yard pass to receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, which put the Seahawks on the edge of field-goal range. As the clocked ticked down, Seahawks kicker Jason Myers successfully connected on a 52-yard field goal to give the Seahawks the three-point win as time expired.
The Seahawks caught a break on their final drive when they started on their own 40-yard line after the Cardinals’ kickoff didn’t first bounce inside the designated landing zone. But after the game, head coach Mike Macdonald credited Darnold with the win over the team’s lucky starting field position.
“Sam’s playing out of his mind right now,” Macdonald said after the Seahawks win, via NFL.com. “You see him and he’s just like such a cool customer. He’s a guy on a mission.”
Macdonald also added: “[Sam is] so determined for us to be a great team and a great offense. He’s doing a great job leading us.”
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Darnold was elated following the win, and he revealed some of his postgame plans to celebrate.
“There’s a lot of stuff that we can clean up, but I’m going to enjoy this three-day break or whatever we got and watch some Ryder Cup,” he said.
Darnold’s game-winning drive was his seventh since 2024, according to Grant Gordon of NFL.com, which ties him with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the most gave-winning drives in the NFL during that span.
Seattle’s win will likely push them even higher in NFL power rankings next week. Following the team’s Week 3 victory over the Saints, the Seahawks jumped four spots in ESPN’s power rankings to No. 14 before Week 4.
“You have to nitpick to find any flaws in a defense that is allowing the second-fewest points per game (15.7),” Brady Henderson of ESPN stated the outlet’s Sept. 23 power rankings. “The Seahawks’ only real issue is one for which they’ve found some solutions.”