Looks like the rule against owning multiple NFL franchises doesn’t apply to Vinod Khosla.
Not after the Seattle Seahawks re-demolished their rivals from the desert 17-3 in a game that could’ve been closer, I suppose, but also could’ve easily been a much wider blowout. Truthfully, only a couple main outcomes were on the table today in Seahawks-Cardinals II: Defensive Boogaloo: A) Narrow Arizona victory aided by touchdown drives and various balderdash (including but not limited to officiating shenanigans),
or B) Return-to-form Seattle win reminiscent of Week 8 against the Chiefs and *waves at entire Mike Macdonald era*.
We very nearly got A), but instead, it was indeed B), a Macdonald lab-grown triumph via timely contributions from your remaining defensive stars, excellent containment of explosives, and mistake-free offense. Watching the defense, was, as ever, a series of little climaxes leading to the sweet release of victory formation.
The Seahawks had one favorable officiating decision (the Barner TD reception) outweighed by several unfavorable ones, which kept leading to score changes, and still prevailed by two touchdowns, undermanned, without Jaxon Smith-Njigba being the main reason, either. I’ll tell you: I came into Week 9 weirdly excited. We were going to see the Hawks win extremely shorthanded and confirm that they still have a role to play in the NFC, or they’d lose and spend at least one week at the bottom of the division, underwater at 4-5 and 1-2.
They won’t be spending that week in the cellar and we won’t spend the week thinking about draft targets. In part because the red zone woes flipped; in part because Drew Lock was up to managing the game flawlessly; and as usual, in largest part because it’s so dang hard to score against them. You need a lot of things to go right in the proper sequence, and the Cardinals didn’t have the weapons beyond Trey McBride to pull off the upset.
They did receive more than their fair share of breaks, such as Reggie Virgil’s third-down bobble being ruled a catch on the opening possession or Josh Jobe’s interception being nullified because Trey McBride can’t run in a straight line without falling down:
It feels fan-conceited to say, but the Seahawks defense is so complete (and so deep! Leonard Williams and Uchenna Nwosu didn’t even suit up!) that they could pitch a shutout every time they take the field. Remember the Super Bowl? I’d guess yeah. The Patriots got some garbage points in the fourth quarter and put up a big goose egg until then.
There’s nobody this Seahawks defense can’t dominate. Give them another shot at the Bears in January, NFL scriptwriters, I dare you.
Q1: Cardinals 3, Seahawks 0
Predator: Feels good to mention Nick Emmanwori again.
Prey: Gardner Minshew, who peed his pants a little but the broadcast was too chicken to show it.
How: One of the things that sets really good ball carriers apart is how quickly they get up to full speed. I really like what Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price bring to the table, especially as complements to one another, but Kenneth Walker was so good at accelerating straight from first gear to fifth. Emmanwori does that here and also finds time to maul Minshew with his arms/tentacles.
Minshew was flagged for intentional grounding. When you don’t give a QB time to process, good things happen. Anytime the competition committee wants to change the grounding rule to reward the nearest defender with a sack, they should feel free, by the way.
Recap: Opening the game with three JSN targets is a choice, and I don’t necessarily mind it, and it’s hard to argue it didn’t work, given the later success both Charbs and Price had on the ground. I like Brian Fleury dictating to his Arizona counterpart, or telling him, you think we’re gonna approach this game one ultra-conservative way? Think again.
The plan didn’t result in points, Drew Lock was off target twice and the Seahawks went three-and out. There’s still something to be said for putting the fear of Jax into the opponent’s collective psyche right away.
Pinned on the 1 by Michael Dickson’s sumptuous right foot, the Cardinals drove the length of the field, although as mentioned earlier, if the Reggie Virgil bobble is called correctly, there are no points for them. What was most encouraging of all, was seeing the Seahawks defend the red zone blades of grass like the rest of the blades. They broke an unfortunate string of nine consecutive red zone touchdowns allowed.
And the field goal Chad Ryland knocked through would be his — and his teammates’ — last of the day.
Seattle’s next possession would stall at midfield when Mack Wilson was left unblocked on third down. But no matter, the E-Man would show up as advertised, Arizona punted right back.
Something about Price receiving chops and willingness and he’s explosive so just get him the ball. If you see a little C.J. Prosise in his game after this clip, well, who am I to stop you?
Charbonnet and Price each moved the sticks afterward, the Seahawks knocked on the door, the Cardinals ended the quarter with a brain fart, jumping offsides before the clock ran out, and as the quarter ended, the hosts were poised to take the lead.
Q2: Seahawks 7, Cardinals 6
Predator: Seahawks pass rushers, composite, as the half drew to a close
Prey: Not to pick on him again, but Minshew. Look, he plays the game voluntarily.
How: On the Cardinals’ final five pass plays of the half, Minshew was sacked twice, pressured all five, and completed one pass for two yards, that McBride fumbled. Five different Seahawks got there: Byron Murphy II on third down midway through the quarter, then Lawrence, then Emmanwori, then Ernest Jones won a seven-man race, before Dante Fowler finally finished him off to send everyone to the locker room.
Minshew had been 8/10 with 8.0 YPA until the full weight of the Seattle pass rush fell upon him. He was 13/20 with 3.4 after.
Recap: Two yards from paydirt, the Seahawks stopped getting cute. A.J. Barner took the handoff both times and they helped him scoot his glute for loot. The second thrust was the charm, and Seattle had a lead it would never relinquish.
All 58 yards on the touchdown drive were gained by running backs or rushing plays.
The teams traded punts for the next four possessions, but Murphy’s sack was especially well-timed, as it knocked the Cardinals out of field goal range.
Seems like every week the Seahawks give up an inexplicable points-scoring drive, and with that out of the way, they set out to complete another side quest: scoring in 90 seconds or less. Under two minutes remained. Perfect timing.
A couple completions and some tough Charbonnet running moved the chains. A 29-yard obvious DPI flag got the Seahawks close, and then Jax made his biggest contribution of the day:
With only one timeout you needed an explosive to open up the playbook and go for six instead of three. With a crossing pattern you needed to break tackles. This is why you made the man the highest-paid WR in football.
Barner doesn’t quite hold on, ball moves at he hits the ground and slides along the turf. Didn’t look like a catch but here’s the thing about refereeing decisions: they tend to even out.
Arizona scored three points on a catch that wasn’t and got to punt on an obvious fumble.
Q3: Seahawks 17, Cardinals 3
Predator: I just really appreciated the cool demeanor Drew Lock exuded as he calmly dropped this sidearm throw around a rushing Andrew Wingard.
Prey: Fear and anxiety of getting your sh-t rocked.
How: How indeed.
This catch gave the Seahawks a new set of downs, which they invested in three points later to cap the day’s scoring.
Arizona’s opening possession out of the break ran into the outstretched arm of Josh Jobe on another well-timed corner blitz (how does Macdonald know?!) and a third-down Lawrence sack. Tank is never allowed to retire.
Seattle answered with the game’s final points on a field goal drive saved by Lock’s ability to deal with pressure, as detailed earlier. If he doesn’t have a job here next season he can compete for starter minutes elsewhere, and if so the Seahawks will miss him.
The Cardinals punted for the sixth time in seven possessions, the other being the end of half, ensuring Seattle would hold the ball and a two touchdown lead entering the final quarter. Just as every fan no doubt predicted when the final injury report came out Friday.
Q4: Seahawks 17, Cardinals 3
Predator: Zach Charbonnet
Prey: Rehab
How: Charbs didn’t get to participate in the ritual fourth quarter demoralization of the Cardinals in Week 4, so it’s only he fair he got to convert first downs on consecutive . Also, it’s fair to declare him all the way back from the ACL injury that ended his 2025 season prematurely.
Charbs finished with a 16-77-0 line but 37 of those came in the fourth quarter and he had a monster 25-yard screen pass called back for a personal foul after the play. Which… shouldn’t happen?
The Seahawks offense can now do these types of things to an opposing defense again. Yes, Emanuel Wilson and George Holani did some real men’s work while the team awaited Charbonnet’s return. That being said, he changes the offense, not sure how else to put it. Sometimes the simplest solution verified by the eye test is the most accurate explanation.
Recap: A Kupp conversion opened the fourth quarter, and after Lock got the defense to jump again, for the third time, he found Tory Horton alone in the middle of the field for 17. What’s especially fun about the catch is how JSN made it happen. His mere presence drew two defenders deep. Horton found the belly of the zone, awaited the ball, and got to file it away for next week. Or the looming 49ers game Thanksgiving weekend.
A couple handoffs to Price killed 90 seconds of game clock, and when Lock found Charbonnet as a sideline outlet on third down, and the former Bruin dodged defenders all the way to the 22, it felt like game over for the visitors. Except they would receive one more bailout. Jalen Sundell was flagged for the late hit you can see above; officials somehow decided it erased the play instead of allowing the first down to stand before moving Seattle back 15 yards. Abruptly, the Seahawks were out of field goal range and facing 3rd and 20. They punted, unable to add on or bleed any more clock.
No matter — the Cardinals would run it out on their own. A zero-point drive with an overturned interception and a McBride toe-tapper on fourth down put Arizona on the doorstep, first and goal inside the Seattle five. But Lawrence blew up the first down run, Minshew aborted his scramble at the two yards line, and threw two incompletions to curtail the threat. The Cardinals ran 14 plays for 76 yards in six minutes, only to boost Seattle’s win probability above 99 by the end.
As a parting gift, they also gifted us one last moment for Spoon to the refs what’s what.
Anyway, the Seahawks would ride Charbonnet for the first downs pictured above, run another Barnyard on 3rd and 1 to take us to the two-minute warning, and then engage in a little victory formation, as a treat.
Evening Preyers
Seattle won without a monster game from JSN. A frequent criticism of the offense has been its over-reliance on Smith-Njigba, prompting many to wonder if a path to victory exists when he’s not beating worlds. God to see it, even if the 7-51-0 game slows his history books chase.
No, an opposing running back did not reach 100 yards. In fact, Allgeier and Minshew combined for just 50 on the ground, total. The depth of this defensive line and tackling ability of second-level defenders is unlike anything I’ve seen since 2013.
Brian Fleury had his best game as a play caller. You had the early JSN targets to clear out the box, then 36 runs to 28 passes. Fleury was forced to game plan around backup with one functioning elbow, the non-throwing one. And he earned how to call positive running plays from the 1! Loved to see the Barnyard at the goal line. Our offensive coordinator is
We’ll have to look at time to throw stats too, but he also kept Lock out of danger; no sacks allowed. Which I suppose, if you’re so inclined, you could credit the offensive line too.
And yes, getting your starting ball toters back from injury helps. The Charbonnet-Price RB combo, with decent run blocking of course, is a missing element that’s no longer missing. Those guys would make any coordinator look smarter.
No egregious special teams errors except for illegal formation on a kickoff, which led to exactly zero points. Dickson dropped a punt at the one, Myers made everything, coverage was good and returns were acceptable. A big part of winning double digit games in an NFL season is NOT giving any of them away. As we’ve seen divisional rivals do recently via kicking meltdowns.
Why yes, everyone does get another Witherspoon highlight.
Viewers were fed multiple shots of a stoic Sam Darnold. Watching your team operate with you is probably already hard enough, but witnessing them win in large part because they made no critical errors on offense could be the jolt he needs to buckle down and practice real ball security. Of course, if that was going to work, it would have probably kicked in when he spent most of September on the sideline.
I’m not a Start Drew Lock guy. His limitations are greater than Darnold’s and I want Sam back under center as soon as physically possible. There won’t be any Cardinals-levels opponents in January. And Lock doesn’t win either Rams home game last year. Nevertheless: when a Seahawk quarterback plays within himself and trusts the process, eschews hero ball, and lets his more talented teammates (of which there are many!) decide the game, good things happen to this team. Lock is better at that very specific job, which serves Seattle, Macdonald and Fleury more at this stage of the season.
So I don’t believe there should be any quarterback controversy after the bye, when both men are much healthier. The Seahawks need Drew Lock to play this same game again against the Raiders next Sunday, then
Eight rushing first downs for Seattle after one against Chicago. Would like to officially and permanently reword a mantra I fell for last decade: Running backs don’t matter, until they do.
Finally, another reason pumpkin pie is superior to its siblings is the ease of cutting perfectly shaped pieces without them falling apart on the plate.
Four games in the next five weeks. Well-timed bye, for once? We’ll take it. Niners after. Free-falling Raiders and Cowboys in there somewhere, that’s fortuitous. The J.J. McCarthy Giants too. If the Seahawks are going to make a title defense, officially, like by reaching the playoffs, they’ll need three wins in the next four. Good news: they can do it with the defense they have and the game plan we saw Sunday, while they wait and regain their most impactful players in the trenches.
This season was always fated to be a little weird. But now it has the chance to be special again; if the Seahawks can make the formula work twice in three weeks, once against a contender and again against a rival, they can make it work anytime.
