One team squandered a 14-point lead with four minutes remaining in the game while the other collapsed shortly after the conclusion of the national anthem last week.
While neither outcome was welcomed with open arms, both the Arizona Cardinals (3-5) and Seattle Seahawks (4-4) can be thankful that no team is running away with the NFC West.
For that matter, no team in the division has a winning record.
The Cardinals and Seahawks will look to rebound Sunday when they meet for the second time in three weeks - this time in the desert. Seattle, which remains tied with the upstart St. Louis Rams (4-4) atop the division, recorded a 22-10 victory over Arizona on Oct. 24.
That contest started a losing streak for Arizona that hit three games last Sunday as Brett Favre guided Minnesota to a pair of late scores and Ryan Longwell booted a 35-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Vikings to a 27-24 victory.
Derek Anderson was efficient, albeit unspectacular, completing 15 of 26 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown.
With that said, coach Ken Whisenhunt is more accepting of Anderson's numbers since he did not throw an interception - like he did in the previous week. Anderson attempted to force a pass to stud wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald in the waning moments of that contest, but it was intercepted and resulted in a 38-35 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With Kurt Warner a distant memory, the Cardinals have limped to the 30th-best (read: third-worst) passing offense with 192.0 yards this season.
The rushing numbers aren't much better, as Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower haven't gotten the job done thus far. Arizona is averaging 87.9 yards per game, good enough for fifth worst in the league.
Arizona did receive a boost from its special teams as LaRod Stephens-Howling returned a kickoff 96 yards for a score in the second quarter. Not to be outdone, Michael Adams recovered Percy Harvin's fumble to start the second half and rumbled 30 yards for a score to give the Cardinals a 21-10 lead.
Now, Arizona returns home to play four of its next five in front of its own fans.
The home-field advantage did little last week for Seattle, which permitted three first-quarter touchdowns and five by halftime. The New York Giants eventually called off the dogs and settled for a convincing 41-7 triumph.
The Seahawks managed just 162 total yards of offense and just 17 minutes, 26 seconds in time of possession en route to their second straight lopsided loss. The Oakland Raiders did the honors the previous week, courtesy of a 33-3 thrashing.
Charlie Whitehurst's first career start was hardly worth remembering - save for his 36-yard touchdown to Ben Obomanu early in the fourth quarter. Whitehurst completed 12 of 23 yards passes for just 113 yards in the absence of Matt Hasselbeck, who was sidelined with lingering concussion symptoms.
Hasselbeck has been cleared to return and is expected to start Sunday's contest, and coach Pete Carroll hopes that the veteran can ignite a stagnant offense.
Marshawn Lynch had a team-high 48 yards - 26 of which came on one fourth-quarter rush. Speaking of rushing futility, Seattle has “trumped” Arizona by being fourth worst in rushing yards per game with an average of 83.6.