Olathe North grad Isaiah Simmons ‘breaks the seal,’ helps Cardinals beat Seahawks
The NFL’s decision to flex the “Sunday Night Football” game paid off handsomely.
Instead of being subjected to the Buccaneers’ blowout win over the Raiders in Las Vegas, NFL fans got to watch one of the best games of the season as the Cardinals topped Seattle 37-34 in overtime.
There were a number of big plays in the game, and none bigger than Olathe North graduate Isaiah Simmons’ interception in overtime that gave Arizona a chance to win in the extra period.
With just over a minute to go in overtime, Seattle had the ball on their 48-yard line and were running a third-and-14 play. Simmons, a linebacker, faked as if he would rush, then dropped back into coverage and intercepted Seattle’s Russell Wilson.
“It was clutch, clutch,” safety Budda Baker said of Simmons, per Arizona Sports. “It was kinda a smoke pressure. Isaiah was showing like he was blitzing and then got out, Russell didn’t see him. Isaiah used his length and got an interception.”
Arizona drove 19 yards to set up the field goal and handed the Seahawks their first loss. After the victory, Simmons received a game ball from coach Kliff Kingsbury:
“Coach Vance (Joseph) was very aggressive and Isaiah went through his keys — didn’t play all night,” Patrick Peterson told Arizona Sports. “He came in and made a huge, huge play. You can ask him: Before the game, I told him, ‘This might be the game where you break that seal.’”
Simmons did just that, making the most of his opportunity to make in impact.
