The Seattle Seahawks (2-0) started fast but wasted some extra scoring opportunities in the first half against the Arizona Cardinals (1-1). There would be no such issue in the second half, as Jaxon Smith-Njigba shredded the Cardinals defense to the tune of 9 catches for 155 yards and his first ever 3-touchdown performance. Seattle turned a 7-7 halftime score into a 2 rout, marking their franchise record 12th consecutive win. It’s also their 10th straight victory over the Cardinals, dating back to Russell Wilson’s final start of his Seahawks career.
Whether it’s Russ, Geno Smith, Sam Darnold, or (in today’s case) Drew Lock, it doesn’t matter who the Seahawks quarterback is. The end result is a W over Arizona, and Lock earned huge praise for an outstanding 19/26, 235-yard, 3 TD, 0 turnover game in place of the injured Darnold.
The running game had some struggles in the first half, with neither Jadarian Price nor Emanuel Wilson finding much running room. That changed in the second half, as they put up 119 yards on the ground, the bulk of which actually came from Wilson, who got the bulk of the touches from late third quarter onward when Price left with a chest injury. Seattle finished with 162 yards on the ground, including 92 from Wilson, 52 from Price, and A.J. Barner getting a “Barnyard” push for a garbage time score.
Seahawks vs. Cardinals 1st half recap
The Seahawks kick coverage unit gave up a big return to Devin Duvernay, who set the Cards up at their own 43. Trey McBride caught the first pass of the game for nine yards, but the Cards would go -1 after that and punt it to Seattle.
After a Jadarian Price carry on the first play, Drew Lock’s first throw was an 82-yard touchdown to the most wide open Jaxon Smith-Njigba has probably ever been in his young NFL career. Somebody blew a coverage in Arizona’s secondary, and it might have been Budda Baker, who had no chance. What a start! 7-0 Seahawks.
Arizona and Seattle exchanged punts on ensuing possessions, with Leonard Williams lighting up Jacoby Brissett on a third-down sack for his second of the season. The Cardinals got a good drive going with favorable field position, relying on rookie running back Jeremiyah Love and Trey McBride to get them down the field. A pass interference on Rodney Thomas II extended Arizona’s possession from a field goal attempt to a new set of downs.
Faced with 3rd and goal at the 10, Brissett scrambled inside the 5 and just a few yards short of the goal line. To start the second quarter, Mike LaFleur had a decision to make as far as going for it or kicking a field goal to get points on the board. Trey McBride was 1-on-1 with Josh Jobe and it wasn’t even a contest. 7-7.
After a couple of positive Lock throws to Rashid Shaheed, Seattle’s Notre Dame rookie Jadarian Price had his first bad moment in the NFL. Zaven Collins ripped the ball out and got the recovery for the game’s first turnover.
Seattle’s defense held firm and forced a punt. The Seahawks again had an encouraging start to a drive, only for an Abe Lucas penalty to drive them to 3rd and 12. Lock escaped pressure and had an open Rashid Shaheed on the crosser, but he had the ball go through his hands. Michael Dickson’s ensuing punt backed the Cardinals up, then Arizona backed itself up more with a penalty. Seattle forced a three-and-out, got a good return by Shaheed and an iffy late hit penalty to make it a short field.
Lock found JSN for a couple of first-down catches and set up a goal-to-go. A slew of run plays with Price and Emanuel Wilson got to the 1-yard line. The bad news is those were four run plays, and the fourth one by Wilson was short of the goal line.
Seattle still got the ball back with a little time and a timeout left to at least get a field goal on the board. Drew Lock aggressively pursued a big play to Shaheed, but Will Johnson tipped it away. Cooper Kupp gained 16 and got out of bounds to give Seattle a fighting chance to get into FG territory. JSN had a pass he couldn’t corral, then a flat-out drop, a catch on the third target in a row, and Drew Lock was sacked on the Hail Mary attempt.
Seahawks vs. Cardinals 2nd half recap
Here’s a wacky play! Rashid Shaheed fumbled the opening kickoff, which Chazz Surratt scooped up and ran all the way inside Arizona’s 40-yard line! Just how Seattle drew it up!
After a 25-yard run by Jadarian Price, Seattle retook the lead on a 3rd-and-goal strike from Lock to, you guessed it, Jaxon Smith-Njigba. 14-7 Seahawks.
PICK! How did Julian Love catch this? What a play!!!
Seattle turned another short field into points, albeit just three when Eric Saubert caught a pass on a checkdown and fell for a 10-yard loss. Jason Myers was on the money from 33 yards out. 17-7 Seahawks.
The Cardinals just couldn’t do anything on offense. No explosive passes, no explosive runs, nothing substantive for Brissett, Love, McBride, and others. It was unlikely the Cardinals would find a way to get more than 17 points on the afternoon.
A 10-play, 80-yard drive by the Seahawks took over five minutes off the clock and proved to be the back-breaker. Lock found JSN matched up with Budda Baker, and Baker got a 4k view of Smith-Njigba’s third touchdown of the afternoon. 24-7 Seahawks.
You want physical? Here’s physical. The Seahawks put up a 16-play, 70-yard drive lasting over 10 minutes. It was almost exclusively run plays, with the final one coming from tight end A.J. Barner for the last touchdown of the afternoon. 31-7 Seahawks final.
Full Seahawks-Cardinals box score
Seahawks injury report
- NT Brandon Pili was ruled out of the game in the first half after suffering a concussion.
- RB Jadarian Price left the game late in the second half with a chest injury and did not return. There wasn’t really any need to bring him back in a blowout.
Next week’s opponent
The Seahawks will be back on the road for Week 3 against the Washington Commanders, who lost Jayden Daniels to an awful left arm injury and are now 0-2 to start the season. It’s an early kickoff at 10 am PT on FOX on Sunday, Sept. 27.
