Wells scores 2 TDs, Cardinals rally to beat Seahawks 31-20

Wells scores twice, Arizona rallies for 31-20 win

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona fans finally saw a semblance of the team they watched win the NFC championship last season.

It just took awhile on Sunday.

Rookie Beanie Wells had second-half touchdown runs of 10 and 13 yards and the Cardinals rallied from an early two-touchdown deficit to beat the Seahawks 31-20, just Arizona’s second home win in five tries.

Kurt Warner completed 29 of 38 for 340 yards and two touchdown passes for the Cardinals (6-3), who stayed two games up on San Francisco in the NFC West. In the process, Warner became the 29th player in NFL history to throw 200 touchdown passes. He had his 51st 300-yard passing game, tying Dan Fouts for fourth on the NFL career list.

With Julius Jones out early with a chest injury, second-year back Justin Forsett rushed for a career-high 123 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown run, for the Seahawks (3-6).

Matt Hasselbeck, who had been bothered by a sore shoulder, was 26 of 52 for 315 yards and a touchdown. He was picked off twice late in the game.

Wells gained a career-best 85 yards on 16 carries and caught two passes for 32 yards.

Arizona outscored the Seahawks 21-3 in the second half after two quarters of looking very much like the team that had struggled to a 1-3 record at home and nothing like the one that dominated at Seattle in a 27-3 win on Oct. 18.

Down 17-10, the Cardinals took the second-half kickoff and went 82 yards in 13 plays, Wells gaining redemption with his 10-yard scoring run on fourth-and-1, bouncing outside to the end zone, after his personal foul penalty pushed Arizona back from the 4 to the 19-yard line.

The Cardinals held when Seattle had first-and-goal at the 1, and the Seahawks had to settle for Olindo Mare’s 20-yard field goal to go ahead 20-17.

Arizona took the lead for good with a quick, four-play, 80-yard drive. Warner’s 27-yard pass to Anquan Boldin set up a spinning, 13-yard TD run by Wells and it was 24-20 with 11:20 to play.

The Cardinals added another score on Warner’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald.

Boldin, held out against his wishes in last week’s win at Chicago with a high ankle sprain, caught eight passes for 105 yards.

Arizona intercepted Hasselbeck twice late in the game. The most impressive came with the Seahawks on the Cardinals 3-yard line with two minutes to go. Hasselbeck attempted a shuffle pass that Adrian Wilson stepped in to pick off, sealing the victory.

Antrel Rolle also had an interception for the Cardinals, who have beaten Seattle four times in a row.

The Cardinals heard it from the crowd as they fell behind 14-0 early.

Arizona seemed on the verge of an early lead after a 46-yard pass interference penalty against Josh Wilson moved the ball to the Seattle 8-yard line. On second-and-goal from the 4, Warner’s pass was intercepted in the end zone by Marcus Trufant.

The Cardinals challenged the play and, after a review, officials ruled Trufant had not established himself in the end zone after stepping out of bounds. But two plays later, Tim Hightower was stopped by Trufant and Leroy Hill on fourth-and-goal at the 1.

It took Seattle no time to get out of the hole, Hasselbeck throwing 53 yards to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who caught nine passes for 165 yards. A facemask penalty against Bryant McFadden added 15 yards to the play.

Forsett’s touchdown run made it 7-0 with 20 seconds left in the first quarter.

For the second touchdown, Hasselbeck faked a handoff on third-and-1 and threw to wide-open tight end John Carlson for a 31-yard touchdown and it was 14-0 with 8:29 to go in the half.