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What The Seahawks Said Following Their 23-20 Win At The Cardinals

Interviews, transcripts, and press conferences from the Seahawks' Week 4 23-20 Win at the Cardinals at State Farm Stadium

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Featuring postgame quotes from the following:

Head Coach Mike Macdonald

Opening statement:

Oh man, It's a great win. I'm just really proud of our team, how hard we're playing, how we're sticking together, the positivity, (and) the fight. Just a really great win. It's a short week, you're on the road, (and) Arizona played a good game… that's a good football team we played, we know that. They did a good job of staying in the game and giving themselves a chance to win. Having said that, we didn't play our best game, and we had opportunities to put the game away throughout the second half. There are a lot of learning experiences that we're going to be able to take from this game so we can improve. The good news is we figured out a way to win the game, which after Week 1… we felt like we had an opportunity to win that game and we didn't figure it out. I feel like our team's growing, we're getting better, just really proud of our guys in the fight and the effort this week to get ready to go play their best football. It'll be good to have a break and then hit the ground running on Monday and get ready for Tampa Bay.

On who and what was the source of positivity at the end of the game:

I've been on teams where it's like the sky's falling, and for us it was identifying the two-minute situation and 'AD' (Seahawks Defensive Coordinator Aden Durde) and the guys (coaches) were talking to the guys on the bench and they're ready to go to overtime. They were talking about our overtime plan. It was just kind of like, 'Hey, what's next?' (Seahawks Offensive Coordinator) Klint (Kubiak) called some great plays. We had a great protection on that series. We were fortunate with the kick not being in the landing zone. Sam (Darnold) and 'Jax' (Jaxon Smith-Njigba) were just lights out and just a great job overall. Brian did a great job of managing the clock. That's just how we roll.

On the NFL's kickoff rules:

I love it right now.

On the on-field call of CB Coby Bryant's fumble after his interception and Smith-Njigba's holding penalty:

I did not get an explanation, but I didn't ask for one. I guess they just said that he wasn't down by contact and the ball was out. We'll get some clarification on it. He looked close, but we do have to take care of the ball. On Jaxon's plan, I'm not sure. He said he had eyes on it and that's what he saw. You have to go live to fight another day.

On K Jason Myers missing a field goal and then making the game-winning field goal:

I just saw him coming in here… I've seen this guy play golf; he's a stud. He (has) ice in his veins. We knew he was going to make that kick… I think the whole sideline knew.

On being aggressive on the two final plays before kicking the game-winning field goal:

Going into that drive, we wanted to be aggressive. We double-moved him there and Jax's made a great catch. Once we got into the field goal range, we went back into four-minute mode. We thought going up multiple scores there, it would've done a great job. When we get into four minute (offense)... this is one of those things we're going to be able to learn from is that we have to be a little bit more effective in those situations. In field goals, every yard matters. It's not like you just hit this magical spot in the field, and field goals are not automatic, so you're trying to maximize gains. We have to be better in that fringe area overall as an offense and that kind of reared its head today throughout the entire game. Those are some things that we need to be able to learn from and improve moving forward. That was our thought process.

On the throw from QB Sam Darnold to Smith-Njigba:

Sam's playing out of his mind right now. You see him and he's such a cool customer. He is a guy on a mission. He's just so determined for us to be a great team and a great offense. He's doing a great job leading us.

On letting the clock run down:

Don't get too cute. That was a great run by 'Charbs' (RB Zach Charbonnet). Again, every yard matters, so you're trying to maximize to give 'J-Money' (Jason Myers) the best opportunity we possibly can and felt like that was the opportunity to go to.

On RB Zach Charbonnet's touchdown where T Charles Cross made a key block:

Yeah, I screwed it up. I should have given Charles a game ball. That's one of my favorite plays I've ever seen. (I'm) just so proud of him, man. This guy has gone through a lot this year with some personal things. He's such a great person. He is a great leader. He's a great football player. We could be in a walkthrough and this guy is just (going) a thousand percent – attention to detail, takes the liner. (He) does all the things you ask for. He sets such a great example for our team doing those things. It's probably my favorite play of the year so he'll be rewarded this week, I promise.

On TE Eric Saubert's fumble recovery when Cardinals LB Josh Sweat sacked Darnold:

Yeah, that was big. There are some protection things that we have to get cleaned up which has been good all year. We'll go to work on that, but just being heads up and attacking the football… that was a big-time play.

On LB Uchenna Nwosu having the first two sacks this season for the Seahawks' edge group:

Uchenna did? News to me, but I'm happy for him. We rushed him (Cardinals QB Kyler Murray) well. We had the one where he got out there at the end, which is unfortunate. There are going to be some things we're going to learn from how we played this game and we'll look forward to it. Our guys are going to attack it. I don't know how many sacks we ended up with, but I thought we rushed effectively.

On the penalty called on NT Jarran Reed:

I didn't. It seemed like it was on the other side of the field, so we'll look at it (and) see what happened.

On any updates on DE Demarcus Lawrence:

No, he just wasn't able to finish the game.

On what he thought of the run game tonight:

I thought we took a stride here. I thought our coaches did a great job to get the things as the game started to progress. Our guys are fighting up there. They're blocking and (I) felt like we targeted things a little bit better. We'll look at some of those things where those negative-yard runs… but you have to give Arizona a lot of credit, too. That's a really good front (and) great scheme. They play hard (and) they have great players so some of those things are going to happen.

On TE Elijah Arroyo's plays at the end of the first half:

Yeah, big time. Sam giving him a ball that he can make a play on and extend plays. We're going to need him. We have to be able to stretch the field with our tight end group and he did that today.

QB Sam Darnold

On how much he likes the new NFL kickoff rule right now:

It was good starting field position so that was nice. Overall, it was good to get the win. To do it in the two-minute drive and get that big plate of 'Jax' (WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba) at the end was huge. I feel like the complimentary football, not just today but all season, has been really good. We're just going to continue to get better from there. A lot of credit to Arizona as well. I feel like they had a really solid gameplan and they fought all the way to the end. That's pretty much it.

On message to teammates on sideline when game tied:

I think it was just 'Alight, here we go. I'm going to get ready for a two-minute (drill) and treat it like practice.' At the end of the day, when you get in those two-minute situations… we run through those situations so much in practice so at the end of the day, all I can do is just be me, our guys go out there and not do too much and do whatever the play is called. If we have to make an adjustment from there, we go from there.

On Smith-Njigba (WR) in big play moments:

He's just comfortable in those moments. He showed that even in the San Francisco game. Obviously, we didn't get the job done when we played them in the first game but he showed his big play ability - not only in two-minute, but throughout the game. We have that rapport to where we can trust each other with different routes, feeling leverage and all those types of things. At the end of the day, our other guys did a really good job. In two-minute (situations), 'Jax' does a really good job but we're going to have other options for the other guys to shine and I know they'll get their opportunities.

On whether he knew he was going to throw it to Smith-Njigba on the final drive:

I was just reading out the play that was called and sometimes we have to make adjustments and we make adjustments from there. We've done so much in practice but we're just going to continue - for me - especially I'm going to treat every play as its own and go from there.

On having a different ending result tonight compared to last year's playoff game against the Rams that was played at State Farm Stadium:

To be honest, not really, it's just another game. Obviously it's in the same stadium, but it's Week 4. We did a good job today, but there is a lot of stuff that we can clean up. I'm going to enjoy this three-day break or whatever we have and watch some Ryder Cup so I'm excited for that. It's going to be a good time to be able to just put my feet up, relax a little bit, and get ready to roll next week.

On how he's seen TE Elijah Arroyo progress this season:

It's an incredible play. He showed his big-play ability throughout OTAs and camp. I'm really happy he came down with that one because I think I had 20 yards in front of me of green grass. I'm really happy he made that play.

On if his scramble play was the most green grass he's seen in front of him:

It was one of the biggest. It's weird that it happened on that play. Usually, on keepers and 'nakeds' (naked bootleg plays) you don't have that happen, but our O-line did a really good job – even on the keeper – of finishing, and I just saw the open gap and took it.

On what he likes about TE AJ Barner:

AJ is a great target. Obviously there are other guys they have to respect on the field. You got 'Coop' (WR Cooper Kupp), you have 'Jax,' (and) you have (WR) Tory (Horton) who's making good plays. When AJ gets his one-on-one opportunities, I feel really good about him making plays.

On the maturity of his young offensive line:

It was huge… the way that they stepped up on several drives. Obviously, there are a lot of ways to be able to get better… not only for them, but for me and our entire offense. When they needed to step up, they stepped up in a big way.

On K Jason Myers scoring game-winning kick after missing:

Yeah. That's 'J-My'. I don't mean to keep bringing up golf, but I golfed with him this offseason and that's his mentality in golf too. He'll hit a bad shot and he'll come back and stripe the next one. He has that mentality. He gets pretty frustrated when he doesn't make them but then he comes back and it's almost automatic when you know that he's going to go in and knock the next one down.

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

On what he was thinking when the Cardinals tied the game:

I had no doubt we were going to go down there and score honestly. And them making a huge penalty that got us on the 40-yard line, I knew that we just needed one play, a couple plays and (K) Jason's (Myers) going to go down there and seal the deal for us, if not score.

On what he saw on his 22-yard completion in the final drive:

(Seahawks QB) Sam (Darnold) made a perfect throw. Back shoulder ball, the corner was on top of me, so he just placed it perfectly and it was an easy grab.

On getting out of bounds being a priority on his last catch:

Yeah, definitely, just help the team out. Like I said a couple weeks ago, I think our coaches put us in a great position. We've been working (on) concepts like that and strategies like that for a long time. So it was just another play, (I) knew what we had to do and just executed it.

On Darnold's 36-yard throw to him on their second-to-last drive:

Yeah, that was a nicely placed ball. (I made a) double move, got the corner on his toes and made a big play.

On what he made of Darnold's performance after past narratives that he struggles with handling pressure:

I think Sam is a great player, and I don't think any of that matters. I think him being a Seahawk and us just focusing week after week is our mindset, and definitely his mindset and approach.

On how he feels about the team's 3-1 start to the season:

I feel great, but this is the NFL. You have to take it week by week. We started 3-0 last year. Things can turn. Just got to stay focused and handle Tampa Bay next week.

On how the offense still has room to grow:

Yeah, definitely not satisfied with our performance. Definitely happy with the win though. It's hard to get wins in this league. I'm just proud of our guys and how we came out. We'll get back next week and try to correct those things, and get ready for Tampa Bay.

On whether he got an explanation about his holding penalty in the endzone:

No. Players make bad plays, refs make bad plays. (It) happens. (It) sucks for (RB) Zach (Charbonnet).

I wanted him to get that touchdown, so I just have to be better.

On where he got his cowboy hat:

I got this one in Spain, in Madrid.

On what their defense's performance means to the team:

(It) feels great going out there with those guys on defense. I know they're going to hold it down. We're very confident in them. (We) feel like they're the best in the world. We know we're going to get opportunities to win the game no matter what spot we're in. That's our mentality. Love those guys, and they played great tonight.

TE AJ Barner

On his touchdown reception in the first half:

It's just a route we have in the playbook. I was able to get a good look for it. I felt like I might get off the sheet today, and (Seahawks QB) Sam (Darnold) gave me a good ball and I was able to get in the end zone.

On the mindset after the game became tied late in the game:

Just have to go get points and find a way to win the game, no matter what. I felt like we could've finished better, and we'll learn from that so it doesn't get to that point. But we got the win and that's all that matters.

On the where the offense stands after four games:

We just have to keep getting better, keep building off of it and learn from everything we did today. And (we) have that confidence to know we're a damn good offense and just keep it going.

On the red zone success throughout his career:

Opportunities are everything. Obviously seeing the ball in the air to make those plays. I think that's a big part of my game. In the red zone, I want the ball and I feel like I'm a mismatch down there. We have so many playmakers that whoever gets it, it's just win and get in the end zone.

On what he sees from Darnold in the first four games:

Just great composure, great consistency. Keeps on doing his thing and keeps leading the guys. A true veteran presence out there. Consistency and he doesn't put us in bad situations with turnovers and he's really doing a great job.

LB Uchenna Nwosu

On what it means to him to receive the support from his teammates:

It means a lot. Everybody knows my road hasn't been easy and (dealing) with everything. I kept my mind to the grind. I just stayed down always (kept) telling myself things could be worse. I'm blessed to be in this position, so make the most of it (because) I know I'll be back. I just kept preparing the way I usually do and attacked my rehab really hard. Studied, leaned on my brothers. All of my brothers in the locker room kept staying positive with me. The trainers--everybody. It was a whole organizational effort to get me back on that field. I'm very appreciative and I take none of those moments for granted.

On beating timelines in his return to the field:

All glory to God I put in the work. I put in a lot of work this offseason. Every day, every single day, even when I didn't want to. Rehab and doing something. Whether that was icing, Normatech boots, redlight therapy or anything you could think of, I was doing it. I put a lot of time and effort into this and I feel good. It's a blessing I'm able to come back here and play to the level I played today and that 'm used to playing. Nothing new.

On whether he's back where he wants to be play wise:

I was gassed out there tonight, but that just means when I get back to the facility and get on that incline, treadmill, Stairmaster—something to get my wind up. I feel good. When it came down to it, I didn't care how tired I was. I was out there just trying to make plays, but definitely got to get some more running and conditioning.

On if he felt there were more reps for him tonight with Seahawks LB DeMarcus Lawrence getting hurt:

I didn't even know he'd gotten hurt until later but we'll see how it is. He's a warrior. He's played through anything, so we'll see how it goes next week and see what the coaches decided.

On the team working on his contract with him and if that reinforces his level of commitment:

That just shows how much the organization cares about me. (Seahawks General Manager) John (Schneider) is the one who brought me here when I was a free agent coming from the Chargers. John didn't lose faith in me and didn't lose hope in me. I'm forever grateful for it. I'm not too worried about the money. Money's always going to be there. I'm not worried about the money. I just want to be out there playing football again and getting an opportunity to do that.

On if he's sensed a different kind of connection amongst the team:

Definitely, I feel like it's connected. Last year we were connected but this year it's even more connected. Guys are spending a lot more time with each other off the field. It's very important it's how you build the bond that we have. We play a lot of games in the locker room. Every time we see each other everybody's laughing, hugging it up and chatting it up. Offense, defense, different positions groups. This team is very connected. That's something (Seahawks Head Coach) Mike (Macdonald) has built, that's something we've built and we're going to continue to grow.

On how much confidence there is on the defensive side of the ball:

We have a lot of confidence, We take a lot of pride over there. We practice very hard and it's a standard we set for ourselves. We hold ourselves to a higher standard. We know if we the offense a chance and they're going to win us the game like they just showed tonight. It's what we've always prepared for. We always knew.

DE Leonard Williams

On where the Seahawks are and where they want to be:

To me, a great start to the season. The record is great but also, for me what stands out the most is the connection, the type of mindset, the play style we have as a team. That stands out to me more than the record right now. So to me, the foundation is right. The growth of the team and the direction we're heading is right and the record is obviously great to have. But, to me, that's the big picture.

On how the foundation showed up at the end of the game:

I think I just have to give a lot of props and credit to (Seahawks head coach) Coach Mike (Macdonald). Since OTAs and since him being in his second year, I think he took a lot more demand and charge of the tea. He's hit a lot of points on the type of team and playstyle that he wants us to play. I think we took it to heart. We take ownership in the team as well as the players obviously. I think we made that culture ours and we're making it grow.

On how the defense was able to sack Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murrary six times:

It's tough. You definitely don't want to rush scared. At the same time, you have to understand that you can't give him big pockets. You can't give him outside lanes to run. He obviously is going to make his plays on the ground, which he did today. Overall, I think we did a good job getting to him, a good job containing him and I think it just comes down to rushing as one like I said throughout the week. This is one of those weeks where you really have to rush as one. We talk about it all the time in the defensive line room and it has to show up in these type of games.

On how happy he is for LB Uchenna Nwosu:

I'm super happy. I played with that guy in college. He was one of the guys I was most excited about to play with when I was traded here. He's been battling some injuries. The thing that has impressed me the most is that it never got to him mentally. I see players go through injuries, especially back-to-back injuries like he had and you can see it creep into people's mental (health). He's always been a leader, even when he hasn't been on the field. It's nice to see him come out and have a game like this today.

On how the team is 8-1 on the road under Head Coach Mike Macdonald:

Road warriors. I don't know. I think we have some type of mindset where we're like back against the wall. I think it contributes as well to when we were in camp the last two years with Mike, we always have a road, joint camp (practice). When we're in those moments, it's like we become so close together as a team and it's because we're in a new city, we don't know anybody (and) we're practicing against another team. I think that just shows up in the road games.

On how connected this team feels:

To me, like I said, it's more than the record. That's been the biggest thing that I see in this team. You can ask a lot of the veterans who have been around and been on different teams; there is talent on every team. There are first founders, all-pros, and Pro Bowlers on every team that you're going to see. The teams that make it far are the teams that do well when they're going through hard times, close games like this; the connected teams are the ones that pull it through.

Check out the best photos from the Seahawks' game vs. the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football in Week 4.

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