The Cardinals were blown out by the Seahawks, 44–22, on Sunday afternoon. Seattle took a 35–0 lead, aided by two defensive touchdowns, putting the game out of reach early for Arizona.
Here is the good,
the bad and the ugly from the Seahawks’ dismantling of the Cardinals:
The good
TE Trey McBride: When things go south for the Cardinals, something is always looking up for McBride. Carrying nearly the entire offense, McBride had his most productive game of the year, finishing with nine catches for 127 yards and a touchdown.
Second-half scoring: After putting up a goose egg in the first half, the Cardinals showed some life out of the tunnel, scoring 22 points in the second half. Unfortunately, the game had already been out of Arizona’s reach.
The bad
Offensive line: Quarterback Jacoby Brissett was under constant duress the entire game. The offensive line gave up 23 quarterback pressures, 10 hits, and five sacks. They also struggled to consistently sustain blocks in the running game.
Run defense: The Seahawks’ rushing offense had been inconsistent entering this game. But they managed to have a field day against the Cardinals, who allowed 150 yards on the ground combined between running backs Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker III.
Injuries: The injury bug got a hefty bite of the Cardinals, who saw several players on both sides of the ball leave the game. Zay Jones (Achilles) and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (ankle), Walter Nolen (knee), Darius Robinson (groin), Bam Knight (ankle), Jonah Williams (shoulder), and Simi Fehoko (wrist) all got injured.
The ugly
Early turnovers: The tone of this game was set by the two early turnovers that resulted in defensive touchdowns for the Seahawks. Both were strip-sacks of Brissett caused by linebacker Tyrice Knight and recovered to the house by edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence.
Season outlook: There appeared to be some hope for the Cardinals following two hard-fought games against the Colts and Packers, and last Monday night’s win over the Cowboys. But the Seahawks put that to bed, dropping Arizona to 3-6 and raising questions before getting to the back end of their schedule.
