Olindo Mare kicked five field goals and the host Seattle Seahawks took over sole possession of the NFC West with a 22-10 victory over the error-prone Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Mike Williams caught a career-best 11 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown for the Seahawks (4-2), who have started 3-0 at home for the first time since 2005.
Seattle's red-zone struggles forced Mare to be the star.
He made kicks of 20, 31, 51 and 26 yards in helping the Seahawks snap a four-game losing streak to the reigning two-time NFC West champions, who continue to have quarterback troubles.
Derek Anderson, the opening day starter, was forced to relieve ineffective rookie Max Hall. In his second-career start, Hall completed just 4 of 16 passes for 36 yards and an interception before being benched. Anderson finished 8 of 17 for 96 yards.
The Cardinals (3-3) turned the ball over five times, allowing the Seahawks to score six points on drives that netted a combined -19 yards.
Mare’s 51-yard field goal gave the Seahawks a 16-0 lead with 10:57 left in the third. Beanie Wells’ 2-yard touchdown made it 16-7 and Arizona pulled to within 19-10 on a 24-yard field goal from Jay Feely.
But Mare’s 26-yard boot extended the lead to 22-10 with 7:28 left and the Cardinals never threatened again.
Arizona | Seattle | |
Timothy Hightower | Player | Marshawn Lynch |
6 | Attempts | 24 |
59 | Yards | 89 |
9.8 | Avg Yards | 3.7 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
24 | Long | 39 |
Arizona | Seattle | |
Andre Roberts | Player | Mike Williams |
2 | Receptions | 11 |
40 | Yards | 87 |
20.0 | Avg Yards | 7.9 |
0 | Touchdowns | 1 |
25 | Long | 16 |