With as many points and yards as their defense has been yielding, the Seattle Seahawks needed Russell Wilson to play near-perfect football during their 5-0 start.
Wilson was something less than his usual MVP-caliber self on Sunday, throwing two interceptions in regulation and another in overtime. That exceeded the margin for error for a team whose defense continues to be gashed, and the Seahawks fell 37-34 in overtime to the Arizona Cardinals as a result.
The Seahawks lost a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, then withstood a 41-yard missed field goal by Arizona's Zane Gonzalez to extend overtime. After pulling off one close victory after another dating to last season, the Seahawks' late-game magic finally ran out when Wilson's third-and-14 floater was picked by Isaiah Simmons in overtime, setting the Cardinals up for a game-winning field goal from 48 yards out.
That spoiled a career game from Tyler Lockett (15 catches, 200 yards and three touchdowns), as well as a chance for Seattle to remain the NFC's lone unbeaten team.
Describe the game in two words: More drama. Since the start of last season, 17 of the Seahawks' 22 regular-season games have been decided by one score. The loss to Arizona drops them to 14-3 in such games.
Troubling trend: The Seahawks entered Sunday having allowed the most yards through a team's first five games since the 1950 Colts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. They allowed 519 to Arizona. Also troubling was that they didn't have an official hit on Murray, let alone a sack of the Cardinals' quarterback.
QB breakdown: You don't often see Wilson make mistakes like he made on his two interceptions in regulation. The first came on a pass he floated in the flat that was picked by Budda Baker, who looked as though he had a pick-six until DK Metcalf tracked him down to save a touchdown. Wilson was going to Metcalf in the end zone but overthrew him for his second interception. His third appeared to be the result of a miscommunication. He finished 33-of-50 for 388 yards and three touchdowns. That gives him 22 TD passes on the season, tying Peyton Manning's record for the most in NFL history through a team's first six games.
Pivotal play: You could pick any number of them in a game such as this. One of many came on an Arizona field goal attempt with 3:02 in the fourth quarter and the Cardinals down 10. Seattle's Benson Mayowa was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct (leveraging). Arizona elected to take the three points off the board and found the end zone two plays later, cutting Seattle's lead to 34-31.