Arizona Cardinals defensive back Tyrann Mathieu is comfortable saying what everyone who watched Sunday night’s 6-6 tie already knows.
The Seattle Seahawks have serious issues along the offensive line.
“Let’s call it what it is,” Mathieu said, via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. “Their offensive line is not that good. So, we felt like we could get pressure on them, which we did a bunch of times.”
The Cardinals only sacked Russell Wilson once, but Arizona landed five quarterback hits and drew several holding penalties. Outside linebacker Chandler Jones had three of the hits and the lone sack, which ended in a fumble and a 20-yard loss for the Seahawks.
Wilson finished with 225 yards passing on 37 attempts. He rushed just once—on a zone read—for negative two yards.
Wilson has now been sacked 11 times in 2016.
“Anytime you’re starting to get hit, you’re going to be a little rattled,” Cardinals linebacker Markus Golden said. “He held his composure. He didn’t get out of control. He was a little rattled. But it’s a tie game, so it don’t matter.”
Wilson overcame his offensive line late in the game, when he tied the game in overtime with a 57-yard drive. The Seahawks then drove 70 yards on their second possession of overtime, but kicker Steven Hauschka missed a 28-yard field goal.
However, Seattle didn’t have a single drive gaining more than 15 yards during the game’s first 60 minutes. Arizona’s pressure on Wilson was a big reason why.
“That speaks volumes against this offense,” Cardinals linebacker Kevin Minter said. “That’s Russell Wilson; for us to do what we did, I feel like it’s a big step forward for this team.”
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