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Cardinals outlast Seahawks in another OT win

Jan 2, 2012 - 3:12 AM Glendale, AZ (Sports Network) - Jay Feely hit the game-winning 28-yard field goal in overtime, sending the Arizona Cardinals to a 23-20 win over the Seattle Seahawks in the season finale for both squads.

The winning drive was keyed by two huge catches by Larry Fitzgerald. Faced with a 3rd-and-3 from their own 26, John Skelton connected on a 26 yard catch- and-run to Fitzgerald to bring the ball inside Seattle territory at the 48. Then, Skelton found Fitzgerald for 12 yards on an outstanding one-handed snag to place the ball near the red zone, setting up the game-winning kick.

"He's just an incredible football player," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of Fitzgerald. "He's as good as you can get at this game."

Fitzgerald ended his day with nine catches for 149 yards, while Skelton, who started for the third consecutive week in place of Kevin Kolb, threw for 271 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 22-of-40 passing.

"It was just a great effort by our guys," Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "I really liked the way our team hung in there and made some plays there at the end to win. It was important to get the win at home, our fans were great today."

LaRod Stephens-Howling established career-highs with 93 yards on 21 carries in place of Beanie Wells, who was inactive due to a lingering knee injury. Chester Taylor ran for a score, while Todd Heap caught a touchdown pass for Arizona (8-8), which won seven of its last nine games to finish the season on a positive note. The Cardinals also won in overtime for the fourth time this season.

Tarvaris Jackson threw for 222 yards, one score and one interception on 21- of-35 passing, while Leon Washington rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown for Seattle, which finished 7-9. Ricardo Lockette hauled in a 61-yard touchdown pass for the Seahawks.

Arizona opened the scoring on its second possession of the game, as Skelton led a nine-play, 81-yard drive before Taylor bowled his way into the end zone from the one to give the Cardinals an early 7-0 advantage.

Seattle then bridged the first and second stanzas with a 14-play, 55-yard march down to the Arizona 25, where Steven Hauschka booted a 43-yard field goal through the sticks to cut the deficit to 7-3 with 12:10 showing on the second quarter clock.

Late in the second quarter, the Cardinals extended their lead to 10-3 with a 41-yard field goal from Feely that was setup by a 42-yard punt return by Patrick Peterson.

The Seahawks knotted the game at 10 on their first touch of second half when Washington broke a 48-yard sprint to paydirt off left tackle to finish a quick three-play, 74-yard scoring drive.

But, the Cardinals came right back with an eight-play, 80-yard drive, in which Skelton went 6-for-6 for 70 yards. The drive was capped by a 13-yard strike to Heap to make it 17-10 with 6:18 left in the third quarter.

Seattle had a chance to tie the game at 17 on its next drive. The Seahawks moved the ball to the Cards' five, but were unable to punch the ball into the end zone, and to make things worse, Hauschka's 24-yard field goal try was blocked by Peterson, preserving the seven-point lead.

Following the blocked kick, the Cardinals began their next drive on their 20 and went 55 yards in eight plays before Feely hit a 42-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-10 with 12:18 left in regulation.

But the resilient Seahawks came away with points on their next two possessions -- a 26-yard field goal by Hauschka, followed by a 61-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline to Lockette -- to tie the game at 20 with under eight minutes to play.

Game Notes

The Cardinals hold a 14-12 edge in their overall series with the Seahawks...Arizona has blocked five field goal attempts this season, the most in the NFL...The Cardinals converted seven of their 17 third down opportunities, while Seattle went 3-for-16 on third down...Arizona outgained Seattle, 388-369...The teams split two meetings this season, with each team winning at home.