Arizona Cardinals Dominated By Seattle Seahawks 44-22
The Seattle Seahawks dominated the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon. At some point, the Hawks in front of the “12th Man” were ahead 35-0. The best part was that Quarterback Sam Darnold only threw the ball 12 times, and the Seahawks put up 44 points anyway.
Seahawks Defensive and Rushing Dominance
The defense was why Seattle prevailed and why the Cardinals were stopped from soaring. Even though the Cardinals gained almost as many total yards as the Seahawks, it was almost always turned against them.
Linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence recovered not one but two fumbles for touchdowns. That contributed to 12 of Seattle’s 12 points coming from the defense. “That was like déjà vu,” Wie Receiver Cooper Kupp said. “It was crazy. It might have been the same exact defensive call.”
“You can’t draw that up. (Tyrice Knight) did a great job repping the play exactly how Coach Macdonald drew it up, and I was the lucky recipient of two forced fumbles. I will take it every day,” Lawrence said.
Another place where the Hawks shone was in the red zone. They rushed the ball 46 times for 198 total yards for their best rushing day of the year. “We had guys step up, and nobody flinched,” Macdonald said. “And it took all 70 again. That’s how we roll.”
Seattle’s running backs also found the end zone two times. Once with George Holani from nine yards out for his first career rushing TD, and another with Zach Charbonnet from six yards out.
The Seahawks’ best highlight, however, was their opening touchdown of the game. When Darnold, on the run escaping pressure from his left, threw a beauty to an in-form Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 43-yard touchdown on the first drive of the game.
The Cardinals Struggled
If you’re ever down 35-0 at any point during a game, you’ve struggled, to say the least. The most noticeable flaw was Arizona’s inability to create anything on offense. Two of the Cardinals’ touchdowns came off Seahawks’ turnovers.
Credit is deserved by the offense for capitalizing on the chances the defense created. But the difference was made because the Seahawks were able to make it down the field and score. The Cardinals, led by backup Jacoby Brissett, couldn’t do so and had turnover problems of their own. Aside from the turnovers, the defense was a turnstile most of the game.
The Seahawks averaged a very nice 4.3 yards per rush on 46 attempts, and Darnold only had two incomplete passes. Smith-Njigba caught another touchdown and finished with 93 yards. That was enough to make him the first receiver to 1,000 yards.
“When that happens and the score looks like that, it falls on the head coach,” Cardinals Head Coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters after the game. “It sucks for me to say that because that’s where my mind goes: ‘I didn’t do enough of what I needed to do throughout the week to get them ready to go.'”
A high for the Cardinals in this game was Trey McBride. He was by far the most productive player for Arizona all day. He had a season-high 127 receiving yards and a touchdown. “The amount of respect that they gave him on the other side—they tried doubling him as well and putting their corners on him and giving him a whole bunch of different looks,” Brissett said. “He made the most of a lot of his opportunities.”
The Seahawks play the Rams next with the NFC West and top seed in their sights. The Cardinals face a very uncertain future.
