THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: QB Ward, Cougars deserve a little more love

This is a fact.

It’s really, really difficult to sum up a weekend of different teams, different sports and different results.

The Mariners are clinging to postseason hopes by their fingernails after another disastrous sweep at Texas.

The Seahawks survived a war of attrition to defeat Carolina with backups strewn all over Lumen Field.

Wazzu and Oregon State made the case yet again that those TV giants who run college football made a foolish blunder when they left those two schools out in the cold.

It was dramatic stuff all around.

And except for the Mariners, who are presently in the midst of a backs-to-the-wall, three-game series against Houston at T-Mobile Park, the weekend was about winning.

How to pack it all in one column, then?

I think I’ll choose one overriding thought from each team – in fact, just one word.

We’ll take it from there.

MARINERS?

LUCK.

We learned (again) that rookie starters Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo are overmatched by the Rangers’ slam-bang lineup.

No surprise there.

The goal in Arlington, though, had to be grabbing one game, and that 2-0 defeat on Saturday was painful in so many ways.

I think we can say the Mariners were flat-out unlucky in that one.

Texas scored its two runs off Logan Gilbert on a squibber past first base from Match Garver (velocity: 65.8 mph) and a bloop single by Jonah Heim (63.2 mph).

Meanwhile, Dylan Moore hit a 416-foot double off winner Jordan Montgomery that missed going over the wall by inches.

An inning later, Cal Raleigh launched a 408-foot shot to straightaway center with a man on — but it was just a loud out.

Even the final batter in the game, pinch-hitter Luis Torrens, scorched a 104 mph rocket with two on.

That one was right at shortstop Corey Seager.

“Baseball,” manager Scott Servais said. “Sometimes it’s not always fair.”

The Mariners did get SOME luck on their trip, however, as the 102-loss Royals swept a three-game series in Houston to keep the wild-card race alive.

Hey, it was something.

WAZZU?

PRODIGY

Go ahead and take this to the bank.

Cameron Ward will be playing on Sundays — and not because the Cougs wind up in some outlaw conference that schedules games seven days per week.

The WSU quarterback is the real deal, and proved it once more in that thrilling 38-35 win over Oregon State.

Except for a single fumble, Ward was unstoppable — making correct reads, slinging quick throws and perfect deep bombs, and taking total charge of the game.

What more do you need to play in the NFL?

Ward is 6-2, 223 pounds, he can make whip fastballs or dink screens, and he’s mobile.

On one of his four TD passes against the Beavers, Ward kept the play alive for seven seconds before Josh Kelly came open in the middle of the end zone.

Yes, Ward benefits from a pass-friendly offense, and Kelly made two remarkable one-handed catches, but the Cougs also lost top receiver Lincoln Victor to a foot injury in the first quarter — so Ward had to rebuild the game plan.

Ward torched a very good Beaver defense for 404 yards, giving him 1,390 in four games without an interception.

Oh, and he’s run for three more scores.

The most impressive thing about Cameron Ward, though, is how much he’s improved from his first season in Pullman.

He had all the physical tools a year ago, but his play was a bit uneven as he adjusted to Division I football.

No problem now.

The Pac-12 is rich in quarterbacks (Michael Penix Jr., Cam Rising, Bo Nix and reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams), but Ward could be better than any of them in the NFL.

He was made for it.

SEAHAWKS?

VIOLENCE

You’re forgiven if you didn’t recognize a lot of the players in Seattle’s 37-27 victory over Carolina on Sunday.

A whole bunch of them were second- or third-stringers filling in for guys who were injured.

And unfortunately, that’s become even more of a theme with the Seahawks and all across the NFL this season.

Even though the league keeps adding rules to curb the never-ending rash of injuries, players keep getting bigger and faster — so collisions and pile-ups produce more casualties.

At one point in the Hawks game, guard Damien Lewis left the field with a hand injury.

With Lewis out, center Evan Brown became the only first-unit starter still playing on the offensive line.

Seattle was also missing Jamal Adams, Riq Woolen, Coby Bryant and Tre Brown from its secondary.

That’s a serious casualty rate.

Of course, it was a fair matchup since Carolina lost three defensive starters during the game — including two key linebackers.

If anyone tuned in to see Panthers QB Bryce Young, the first pick in this year’s draft, sorry.

He was out, too.

Instead, Carolina played ancient Andy Dalton, who has started for at least two teams in each of the past FIVE seasons.

Quarterbacks are dropping like flies, as Jets fans can attest after watching Aaron Rodgers last exactly one series in his first game for New York.

Joe Burrow, Anthony Richardson, and so on.

Ironically, Yahoo Sports ran a story just a few days ago, titled: “Aggression or Entertainment: The NFL’s Tricky Balance.”

No matter how strict the rules or how tightly they’re enforced, this is a car-crash sport.

Still, America loves it and the NFL makes billions.

As the Seahawks know too well, however, it’s easier to win with less business in the medical tent.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”