The Seahawks and Cardinals have produced some of the greatest rivalry games of the past few seasons in Seattle and Glendale. The NFC West powers have each won at least ten games the past three seasons.
But Sunday night's primetime 6-6 tie at University of Phoenix Stadium was an NFL tragedy. The game was an absolute mess. The combined possession line went as follows:
Punt
Punt
Punt
Punt
Punt
Punt
Blocked FG
Punt
FG
Punt
Half
Punt
Downs
Punt
Punt
Punt
Punt
Punt
Blocked Punt
FG
Punt
End Of Regulation
FG
FG
Missed FG
Missed FG
End Of Overtime
In case you missed the ugliness, here are six of the gut-wrenching moments:
6. Chandler Catanzaro Misses 24-Yard Game-Winning Field Goal Attempt (3:26 left in overtime)
Doink. #SEAvsAZ pic.twitter.com/ztSyGoL7OC
— NFL (@NFL) October 24, 2016
Catanzaro had the game on his foot for a 24-yard field goal attempt (after a delay of game penalty on the Cardinals). The Seahawks put pressure on the 25-year-old, who had a 39-yarder blocked earlier in the game, and he doinked the kick off the post. But Catanzaro would kind of get off the hook…
5. Stephen Hauschka Misses 28-Yard Game-Winning Field Goal Attempt (with 11 seconds left in overtime)
Steven Hauschka : 2/3 FG's (Missed the potential 28-yard game-winning FG with 8 seconds left in OT) pic.twitter.com/9cJUSXVh2k
— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) October 24, 2016
Hauschka, the 31-year-old veteran who had missed only one field goal all season, was supposed to finally end the game with a 28-yarder. Instead, he matched Catanzaro with a major pull to the left. This is a Blair Walsh-level shank, although Walsh missed in the tundra of Minneapolis. Hauschka was in perfect conditions in Glendale.
"That's impossible," Al Michael said on the call. Pete Carroll, your thoughts.
4. The Postgame Stats
1st tie in Seahawks history
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 24, 2016
There have been three 6-6 NFL ties since the merger, and all three involved the Cardinals.
Tonight vs SEA
1972 at PHI
1970 at KC— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 24, 2016
Entering tonight, kickers were 47-51 on OT attempts that were 29 yards or fewer (since 2001)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 24, 2016
Seahawks and Cardinals tied 6-6, the first tie without a touchdown since 1972 and the Seahawks’ first tie in franchise history.
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) October 24, 2016
Wow.
3. The NFL Twitter Account Gave Up
ASJDKFAL;KSDJC;LKAlkfjds;ldkjfg;lskdjf;lkdsjfg;lkajg;klaj;lkdfjad;lkfj;alkdjfg;slkjf;lskjdf;lkasjdfaslkdjf;lsadjfks #SEAvsAZ
— NFL (@NFL) October 24, 2016
Tonight was the 21st tie since the creation of overtime rules in 1974.
The lowest scoring OT tie in NFL history. (via @NFLResearch) pic.twitter.com/rGdyxonqDH— NFL (@NFL) October 24, 2016
Think about how exciting it would be to tell family and friends you run social media for the NFL. You don't imagine miserable moments like this. Kudos to the social media team for telling it how it is.
2. Samuel L. Jackson's Anger
You got ONE JOB, Kick the MUPFOUGHYYNN BALL!!! WTF?! Both Kickers!
— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) October 24, 2016
This game was so bad it crushed Jackson. This dude played Jules Winnfield, Mace Windu and Coach Carter. He saved all those people from the snakes on that plane. And yet, he could not enjoy his Sunday night. Thank you for speaking your mind, Samuel.
1. Al Michaels Literally Said, "You Want To Kill Yourself" On Air
Things are getting dark. Al Michaels debating whether to take a timeout surmised if they complete a long pass, "You want to kill yourself."
— Mitch Goldich (@mitchgoldich) October 24, 2016
"Then they complete a 40-yard pass and you want to kill yourself."
-Al Michaels— Freddie Benson (@Hornik_Dylan) October 24, 2016
Al Michaels must think nobody is watching this game anymore. He just said, "call timeout, allow a big pass, and you want to kill yourself"
— Justin MacMahan (@JustinMacMahan) October 24, 2016
Al Michaels just dropped a go kill yourself on national TV and instantly solidified himself as the GOAT at announcing
— Brad Branson (@BransonBrad069) October 24, 2016
Michaels and Cris Collinsworth were pretty real about the horrid entertainment produced by both teams. They didn't sugarcoat anything.
"I'll say regulation was UNDERwhelming"
God bless you Al Michaels, you goddamn degenerate— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) October 24, 2016
What a night. Michaels and Collinsworth signed off by reminding fans they have a potentially tolerable matchup in Eagles-Cowboys next week. The duo is headed to Dallas with bells on.
-- Follow Jeffrey Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband.
