Seahawks fall to Cardinals in Mike Holmgren's farewell game

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Phoenix area is a haven for the Holmgren family, a place where Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren and his wife, Kathy, have a home and will be spending time in the weeks ahead.

University of Phoenix Stadium in this Phoenix suburb is not so homey, however. The Seahawks lost here for the third time in three games, falling 34-21 to the Arizona Cardinals in Holmgren's farewell game as head coach.

With the loss, Seattle finished the season 4-12. The Seahawks' four wins tied for the second-fewest in team history; they had a pair of two-win seasons and a 4-12 record in 1980.

After the game, Holmgren wished the playoff-bound Cardinals well. Then he tried to talk to his players for one last postgame speech.

He couldn't, preferring to wait until a meeting with the players today as they pack up their belongings and head their separate ways until offseason workouts.

"The Seahawks and the Cardinals are going to battle it out every year, and we'll be back next year and hopefully have a few more of our guys," Holmgren said, referring to the injuries that decimated the Seattle roster this season. "I was very proud of the way the players battled, and there was great effort. We just ran out of guys."

That was personified by the loss of left tackle Kyle Williams to a concussion in the fourth quarter, forcing the Seahawks to go with Na'Shan Goddard at left tackle for the rest of the game. Goddard, a former Giants practice-squad player, hadn't played with the No. 1 offense since his arrival, and Williams was used because Sean Locklear and Walter Jones are out for the season.

Injuries aside, the Seahawks scored first on Sunday. It came after defensive end Darryl Tapp sacked Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner, forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Seahawks.

Quarterback Seneca Wallace marched the Seahawks 64 yards in 12 plays, finished off by T.J. Duckett's eighth touchdown run of the season for a 7-0 lead with 7:32 left in the first quarter.

The Seahawks had a chance to go up 10-0, but normally sure-footed kicker Olindo Mare missed a 42-yard try wide left in the second quarter. The Cardinals turned that into a touchdown drive capped by Jerheme Urban's 16-yard TD catch and, after a Seahawks fumble, scored again when Warner found Larry Fitzgerald on a slant pattern from the Seattle 5.

Fitzgerald was difficult to cover, as he has typically been against the Seahawks. He finished with two touchdown catches and 130 receiving yards, 88 coming on two receptions.

The Seahawks pulled to a halftime tie after Wallace found Deion Branch for a 30-yard touchdown with 1:17 left in the first half. Wallace took a shot as he threw, and Branch had a defender in his face as he turned for the catch.

"Everyone came out and we gave it all we had," Duckett said. "We've done that the entire year."

The Cardinals took over in the third quarter, however. On their second possession of the quarter, Warner connected with Fitzgerald for 38 yards and another touchdown, despite decent coverage by Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant.

"It's a 50-50 chance when the ball goes up, and he just made the play," Trufant said. "That's what it comes down to."

Fitzgerald had 15 catches for 281 yards in the two games against the Seahawks this season.

The Cardinals put together another third-quarter touchdown drive to go up 28-14, and the Seahawks answered when Wallace found Branch alone in the back of the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play with 12:11 left in the game. Seattle needed stops to get back into the game, but couldn't make the plays it needed as Neil Rackers made two field goals in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

The Seahawks were swept in a season series by the Cardinals for the first time in seven seasons as division opponents. Arizona has won four of the past five meetings, and rolls into the postseason as the first NFC West champion other than the Seahawks in the past five seasons.

The Cardinals (9-7) host the Atlanta Falcons Saturday in a wild-card game.

"We've been winning here [in Seattle] for years," safety Deon Grant said. "We had one bad season, and if that makes you lose your confidence, you don't need to be playing football. Especially for the Seahawks."

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com