Jason Myers boots 52-yard FG on final play, lifting Seahawks to 23-20 win over Cardinals

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks could have been shell-shocked, giving up a 14-point lead during the latter half of the fourth quarter and turning their comfortable advantage into a tie game with 33 seconds left.

It looked like they might need overtime to make amends.

Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jason Myers had other ideas.

Darnold hit Smith-Njigba for a 22-yard gain in a last-minute response, Myers made a 52-yard field goal as time expired, and the Seahawks withstood a late rally by Kyler Murray and the Cardinals to beat Arizona 23-20 on Thursday night.

“I had no doubt we were going to go down there and score, honestly,” Smith-Njigba said. “We just needed one play, a couple plays and Jason's going to go down there and seal the deal.”

Seattle has won eight straight over Arizona, its NFC West rival.

The Cardinals trailed 20-6 midway through the fourth. Murray threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. that cut the deficit to 20-13 with 5:50 left.

After Myers missed a 53-yard field-goal attempt, Murray put together another drive and found Emari Demercado for a 7-yard touchdown with 33 seconds left.

But the Seahawks (3-1) weren't done. A penalty on the ensuing kickoff — Chad Ryland's kick landed short of the landing zone — gave Seattle good field position at the 40. Darnold then hit Smith-Njigba for the big gain that moved Seattle into field-goal range.

Two plays later, Myers calmly knocked the 52-yarder through, making up for his miss just a few minutes before.

“I've seen this guy play golf — he's a stud,” Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said. “He's got ice in his veins. We knew he was going to make that kick.”

Said Myers: “I didn't try to change anything — just stay true to my routine. That's what I prepare for during the offseason and all week. Just trusting it and letting it rip."

Darnold had another efficient outing, completing 18 of 26 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown. Kenneth Walker III ran for 81 yards and Zach Charbonnet added his second rushing touchdown of the season. The Seahawks' defense sacked Kyler Murray six times.

“Sam's playing out of his mind right now,” Macdonald said. “You see him, and he's such a cool customer.”

Charbonnet scored on a 1-yard run late in the second quarter, using a second effort to fall into the end zone and give the Seahawks a 14-3 lead heading into halftime. The Cardinals (2-2) jogged to the locker room amid scattered boos from the home crowd.

Arizona has struggled on offense most of the season and Thursday was a slog until the fourth quarter. The Cardinals have dropped two straight.

“We’ve got to show up and be ready to go,” Murray said. “It’s just taking too long. Obviously, the resilience of the team, you love to see it. You feel like you give yourself a chance to win the game at the end.

“But it’s just too late.”

Murray completed 27 of 41 passes for 200 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, though at least one wasn't his fault.

Harrison had a rough start to the game before making his touchdown grab in the fourth quarter. Last year's No. 4 overall pick bobbled a ball on a slant route in the second quarter, essentially tossing it to Seattle's Ernest Jones IV, who grabbed it for an interception.

It was the second straight walk-off loss for the Cardinals, who fell 16-15 to the 49ers on a last-second field goal just five days earlier. It was the first time since at least 1988 that the Cardinals have lost two games in a row on the final play of regulation, according to Sportradar.

“I appreciate the resiliency, that's there,” coach Jonathan Gannon said. “No one has their head down. Everyone believes we can win. But we're not doing enough, all three phases, to win these games. That's very clear.”

The Seahawks took a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter on Darnold's 16-yard touchdown pass to AJ Barner.

Arizona took a 3-0 lead on Ryland's 33-yard field goal with 4:37 left in the first quarter. The Cardinals grabbed the early advantage partially because of a strange play a few minutes earlier that included turnovers by both teams.

Murray threw a ball that was intercepted by Seattle's Coby Bryant, but Bryant fumbled a few seconds later and the ball was recovered by Arizona's Trey Benson at essentially the same spot where the play started.

Seahawks: Safety Nick Emmanwori (ankle) was inactive. ... Edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence (thigh) left the game in the second quarter and didn't return.

Cardinals: CB Will Johnson (groin) missed his second straight game. WR Zay Jones (concussion) and OL Will Hernandez (knee) were inactive. ... WR Simi Fehoko (concussion) left in the second half. ... DL Darius Robinson (chest) left in the second half.

Seahawks: Host Tampa Bay on Sunday, Oct. 5.

Cardinals: Host Tennessee on Oct. 5.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) intercepts a pass intended for Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) runs with the ball as Arizona Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson (34) defends during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Seattle Seahawks kicker Jason Myers (5) celebrates after making a 52-yard field goal as time expires during the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.

Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.

The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.

Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.

In Friday’s case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation, and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting and thus depriving some Cabinet members who were not convened of their due rights to deliberate on his decree.

Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.

Yoon’s defense team said they will appeal the ruling, which they believe was “politicized” and reflected “the unliberal arguments by the independent counsel.” Yoon’s defense team argued the ruling “oversimplified the boundary between the exercise of the president’s constitutional powers and criminal liability.”

Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.

Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.

South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.

South Korea has a history of pardoning former presidents who were jailed over diverse crimes in the name of promoting national unity. Those pardoned include strongman Chun Doo-hwan, who received the death penalty at a district court over his 1979 coup, the bloody 1980 crackdowns of pro-democracy protests that killed about 200 people, and other crimes.

Some observers say Yoon will likely retain a defiant attitude in the ongoing trials to maintain his support base in the belief that he cannot avoid a lengthy sentence but could be pardoned in the future.

On the night of Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised speech, saying he would eliminate “anti-state forces” and protect “the constitutional democratic order.” Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but many apparently didn’t aggressively cordon off the area, allowing enough lawmakers to get into an assembly hall to vote down Yoon’s decree.

No major violence occurred, but Yoon's stunt caused the biggest political crisis in South Korea and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets. For many, his decree, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, brought back harrowing memories of past dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s, when military-backed leaders used martial law and emergency measures to deploy soldiers and tanks on the streets to suppress demonstrations.

After Yoon's ouster, his liberal rival Lee Jae Myung became president via a snap election last June. After taking office, Lee appointed three independent counsels to look into allegations involving Yoon, his wife and associates.

Yoon's other trials deal with charges like ordering drone flights over North Korea to deliberately inflame animosities to look for a pretext to declare martial law. Other charges accuse Yoon of manipulating the investigation into a marine’s drowning in 2023 and receiving free opinion surveys from an election broker in return for a political favor.

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)