Phoenix: Russell Wilson threw for two touchdowns as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Arizona Cardinals 22-16 on Thursday but the victory was costly as cornerback Richard Sherman sustained a ruptured Achilles.
Sherman was the biggest name hurt but not the only one to go down as the Seahawks and Cardinals both suffered a rash of injuries in the battle of attrition for second place in the NFC West Division.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Sherman needed surgery and likely would be out for the year.
“We definitely lost some of our top players,” quarterback Wilson said. “It is a tough sport we play. You get a little emotional because guys like him work so hard to be great. He (Sherman) deserves it all, unfortunately that happened.”
Sherman appeared to injure his heel in the third quarter after making a tackle in front of the crowd of 64,600 at the University of Phoenix stadium. He stayed in the game and limped around for several plays before finally heading to the locker room.
The game was marred by injuries and penalties as Seattle had nine players leave the game for various reasons.
The list of injuries includes, defensive tackle Jarran Reed (hamstring), running back CJ Prosise (ankle) and linebacker Michael Wilhoite (calf), each of whom did not return. Left tackle Duane Brown also sustained an ankle injury.
The Cardinals are also hurting, losing starting left tackle D.J. Humphries and safety Tyvon Branch in the first quarter because of what looked to be serious right knee injuries.
The Seahawks improved to 6-3 on the season as Wilson connected twice for TDs with tight end Jimmy Graham and kicker Blair Walsh hit a pair of field goals.
Wilson was sacked five times but completed 22 of 32 passes for 238 yards.
He engineered one of the key plays of the game during a mad scramble in the fourth quarter. On second-and-21 from the Seattle 44, Wilson twisted his way out of a heavy pass rush and connected with Doug Baldwin for a dramatic 54-yard completion.
“I don’t think anyone can cover Doug one-on-one,” said Wilson.
On the next play, Wilson found Graham for a two-yard score to make it 22-10 with 12:49 remaining.
Graham finished with six receptions for 27 yards while Baldwin made five catches for 95 yards.
As for penalties, the Seahawks were flagged 12 times for 108 yards and the Cardinals were penalised nine times for 58 yards.
The Seahawks easily contained Cardinals running back Adrian Peterson who had just 29 yards on 21 carries. The 32-year-old Peterson was coming off a 150 yard performance just four days ago but failed to fire and even fumbled on Arizona’s first offensive play on Thursday.
Arizona got a 43-yard field goal from Phil Dawson in the third quarter and a one-yard TD plunge by running back Andre Ellington with 28 seconds left.
Quarterback Drew Stanton was 24 of 47 for 273 yards and one touchdown.
