GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Arizona Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro, an avid golfer, is familiar with the gimme.
Everyone inside University of Phoenix Stadium thought his 24-yard field goal attempt with 3:26 left in overtime on Sunday night was just that: a gimme. Just tap it in and the Cardinals could fist-pump all night after beating the Seattle Seahawks at home for the first time since coach Bruce Arians was hired in 2013.
Instead, Catanzaro missed, hitting the left goalpost. The miss compounded an already bad night for Arizona's special teams.
Then, the Seahawks took possession and marched down field against a defense that all but shut down them during regulation. Seattle then had its own special-teams blunder when kicker Steven Hauschka missed a 28-yard field goal wide left.
The game ended in a 6-6 tie.
"It's been a long time since I've been in a tie," coach Bruce Arians said. "It was a very, very well-hard-fought ballgame. I thought our football team, other than the three plays in the kicking game, was outstanding."
But first there were the special-teams flops.
Early in the second quarter, Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner hurdled long snapper Aaron Brewer, barely grazing his cleats along Brewer's bent-over back, and blocked a field goal.
And with 4:44 left in regulation, Cardinals punter Ryan Quigley had a punt blocked, which gave the Seahawks possession at the Arizona 22. It was the first time Seattle had crossed the 50 all game. It led to the Seahawks' game-tying field goal, which forced overtime.
Then there was Catanzaro's overtime miss.
"I just missed it," he said. "No excuse. Just came out of it a little too fast. Didn't stay in it. No excuse for those. I know I make that kick 999,999 out of a million."
All told, the Cardinals' special-teams ills cost them a chance to move within a half-game of the Seahawks for first place in the NFC West and wasted the team's best defensive effort of the season.
