Despite wins over Cardinals, Arizona has been a house of horrors for the Seahawks

It’s now called State Farm Stadium (something even less memorable apparently was not available) rather than University of Phoenix Stadium (OK, so it has a history of unfortunate names).

Maybe it makes sense that the Arizona Cardinals’ field in Glendale has had a makeover in name since the Seahawks were last there as the Seahawks themselves have had a pretty significant facelift since their visit there last November.

That was one of two times the Seahawks entered University of Phoenix Stadium and left transformed in ways they could hardly have imagined at the time.

The first is a certain pass you may be tired of hearing about.

Regardless of what you think of how that play changed the culture of the team — Does Kam Chancellor hold out if the Seahawks win that game? Do they still make the Jimmy Graham-Max Unger trade? One could argue each of those were bigger factors in what happened next than any quarterback-defense tension — not winning a second Super Bowl altered the legacy of the Legion-of-Boom era forever.

As only became apparent through the weeks and months that followed, it was an era that ended almost as abruptly on that same field Nov. 9 when the Seattle careers of Richard Sherman and Chancellor came to a stunning close.

Sherman’s was apparent at the time as he limped off in the third quarter with a torn Achilles tendon, which given his age and contract situation immediately led to speculation he’d played his last Seattle snap.

Nobody had a clue about Chancellor.

He left at the two-minute warning, having suffered a neck injury a couple plays prior, though few really noticed it at the time. It seemed that the Seahawks were letting Delano Hill get a few snaps with the game comfortably in hand (the Seahawks won 22-16 and were ahead 22-10 when Chancellor left after a game-high 10 tackles).

The first mention of his situation came when coach Pete Carroll was asked a general question about injuries.

“Kam had a stinger late in the game, and we need to see what that’s all about to take care of him and make sure he’s OK,’’ Carroll said.

The next day the attention centered on Sherman’s future and the controversy over whether Russell Wilson had been properly checked out for a concussion — yep, that was an event-filled game — and it wasn’t until the following week that it became apparent that the Chancellor situation was a big deal.

The history in that stadium is unpleasant enough that Seahawks asked about it this week either intentionally avoided the topic or intentionally tried to avoid the topic. It’s hard to imagine all this won’t go through their minds at least a little come Sunday.

“No, didn’t think about that at all,’’ said receiver Doug Baldwin when asked if he’s thought about all that has happened on that field as the Seahawks prepare for a return (Baldwin’s touchdown put Seattle ahead 24-14 late in the third quarter in the Super Bowl). “Not in correlation to the stadium, no.”

Said Bobby Wagner, whose interception led to Baldwin’s touchdown: “I didn’t think about none of that until you brought it up. … I haven’t thought about none of that.’’

In the same answer, Wagner hopefully added: “I think maybe something better is going to happen when we play.’’

That was a reference to Sunday’s game against Arizona.

If it seems like it’s taken us a while to get to that game, it’s because this feels like a matchup of two teams whose futures are in the past with the Rams ruling the NFC West roost after Seattle and Arizona spent the middle part of the 2010s battling for control of the division.

Arizona has scored 20 points entering this game — 20!! — about the same number as the Rams score before the first quarter has ended.

Bruce Arians was an easy target for Seattle fans, but that would not have happened under his watch.

Arizona’s futility makes this a game the Seahawks simply have to win. The Seahawks were a three-point favorite Saturday morning, and it’s hard to see them being that big of a favorite in any road game going forward, and maybe even any home game given the rest of the opponents coming to CenturyLink Field, other than the Jimmy Garopplo-less 49ers.

While the Seahawks have some bad memories at whatever-they-call-it field in Glendale, they are 4-0-1 there in the regular season since 2012, not having lost to the Cardinals there since Russell Wilson’s first NFL game in 2012.

A loss Sunday would mark the end of the road. It’s difficult to see the Seahawks recovering from a 1-3 start to make anything of this season.

A nice, mundane, instantly forgettable victory would be the most memorable thing that could happen this Sunday.