Jimmy Graham injured as Seattle Seahawks edge Pittsburgh Steelers
Monday 30 November 2015 08:16, UK
A serious injury for tight end Jimmy Graham marred the Seattle Seahawks' 39-30 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Russell Wilson threw five touchdown passes for the Seahawks, three of them to wide receiver Doug Baldwin, who stepped up to have a huge game after Graham suffered a season-ending injury to his right kneecap.
Graham, a big-money signing over the summer from the New Orleans Saints, went down clutching his knee early in the fourth quarter as he attempted to reach back and haul in a pass from Wilson.
He immediately called for trainers and was in significant discomfort on the ground - he was carted away from the field after trainers placed an air cast on his right leg.
The game was up for grabs when Graham went down, with four touchdowns coming in the last 12:21.
Only three of the game's 69 points came in the first quarter, with Chris Boswell breaking the deadlock on a 44-yard field goal.
Both teams managed two touchdowns in the second quarter, Wilson linking up with Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse for passing scores while Martavis Bryant and DeAngelo Williams scored rushing touchdowns for the Steelers.
Pittsburgh led 21-14 when Boswell hit a 25-yard field goal, but Thomas Rawls cut the deficit to one point with a one-yard plunge to set up an action-packed last quarter.
Wilson and Kearse linked up for a second touchdown but Ben Roethlisberger, who passed for 456 yards in a losing effort, hooked up with Markus Wheaton for a 69-yard score to restore their one-point advantage.
But the rest of the game proved to be the Wilson and Baldwin show as they produced touchdowns of 30 and 80 yards to see the Seahawks (6-5) home and improve their chances of a wildcard berth at least.
They remain three games adrift of NL West leaders Arizona, with the Cardinals breaking a tie in the fourth quarter to beat the San Francisco 49ers 19-13 and improve to 9-2.
Arizona led 6-0 on two Chandler Catanzaro field goals and they made it 13-3 when David Johnson rushed for a one-yard touchdown.
The 49ers levelled through a Phil Dawson field goal and an eight-yard touchdown pass from Blaine Gabbert to Vance McDonald, but Arizona claimed victory with 2:35 remaining in the game when Carson Palmer scrambled for an eight-yard score.
