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Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals lose Kyler Murray to injury, but still pull off stunning win over Seahawks

Portrait of Kent Somers Kent Somers
Arizona Republic

SEATTLE ā€” Thereā€™s an old saying in the NFL, that any team is two weeks away from disaster.

The opposite is true, too. Any team is only two weeks away from prosperity.

The Arizona Cardinals are in the latter category, for a change.

After defeating the Seattle Seahawks, 27-13, at CenturyLink Field on Sunday, the Cardinalsā€™ fortunes have changed dramatically over the past two weeks. Theyā€™ve gone from a team that had lost six straight games and was looking at a 9-game streak to finish the season, to one thatā€™s won two consecutive games and appears to be growing up.

On Sunday, they won under difficult circumstances.

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Against a playoff team. In a noisy stadium. With their starting quarterback, Kyler Murray, missing nearly all of the second half with a hamstring injury.

While backup Brett Hundley didnā€™t light things up with the arm, he did with his legs and intelligence. He picked up first downs by running and, most importantly, he didnā€™t make mistakes.

Hundley had played in one game this year before Sunday. He attempted one pass. Yet, he came through the first time the Cardinals asked him to.

After Seattle cut the lead to 20-13, the Cardinals drove 78 yards on nine plays for a touchdown to take a 27-13 lead with 4:18 remaining. Hundley, who played the previous two seasons for the Seahawks, gained 32 of those yards on three scrambles.

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Larry Fitzgerald celebrates with teammate Andy Isabella after Fitzgerald scored a touchdown against the Seahawks.

The Cardinals defense held up its end throughout the afternoon, shutting down the Seahawks at several critical junctures.

It was the Cardinals' fourth victory in the past five years in Seattle and improved their record to 5-9-1 with one game left.

That comes next week against the Rams, who were eliminated from the playoffs this weekend.

The Cardinals have a chance in that game. Two weeks ago, that didnā€™t appear to be the case.

Just that fast, a team that looked like it could lose its last nine games of the season now appears like it could finish with three consecutive wins.

Follow the Arizona Republic's Kent Somers on Twitter @kentsomers.

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