It wasn’t pretty, but with all of the injuries the Seattle Seahawks (5-4) are facing, you take a win any way you can against any opponent, let alone one against the Arizona Cardinals (3-6). For an 11th straight time, the Seahawks defeated their NFC West bird rivals, winning 17-3 behind a pair of A.J. Barner touchdowns. Barner scored a rushing TD to start the second quarter and closed the quarter with his first receiving TD all season.
Drew Lock didn’t have to be flashy, especially not with an elbow
injury and then a hip issue that arose later in the game, but he didn’t turn the ball over and made some timely throws when needed. Lock was 19/28 for 175 yards and a TD, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba catching all seven of his passes for a season-low 51 yards in the first half. Only Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price were used out of Seattle’s running back stable, and Charbonnet led the way with 77 yards on 16 carries, as well as a nine-yard catch.
Seattle’s defense didn’t generate a takeaway (officially, because the defense absolutely did) but the Cardinals didn’t score after the game’s opening drive. Gardner Minshew was sacked three times by Seattle’s banged up defensive line, Tyler Allgeier was limited to just 46 yards on 17 carries, and while the Seahawks offense had a pair of red zone touchdowns, the Seahawks defense limited Arizona to just a field goal in two red zone possessions.
The penalties, though. Oh the penalties. A whopping 18 accepted flags and 180 total penalty yards. It was a combo of bad discipline by both teams and over-officiating by Clete Blakeman’s obnoxiously flag-happy crew. But at least it’s over.
Seahawks vs. Cardinals 1st half recap
The Seahawks started on offense first following a nice kick return by Jadarian Price. It was three straight Drew Lock passes, all to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but only one was complete and it was a three-and-out. Gardner Minshew and company were backed up at the 1 thanks to a typically brilliant Michael Dickson punt. Minshew delivered a deep ball to Reggie Virgil for 25 yards on third down, and somehow he was deemed to have toe-tapped along the sidelines. Mike Macdonald’s challenge was unsuccessful.
A great catch by Michael Wilson and a big run by Tyler Allgeier put Arizona into Seattle territory. Ernest Jones was dinged for a helmet shot, so the Cards were in the red zone in next to no time. Nick Emmanwori stonewalled Trey McBride on third down to hold the Cardinals to a Chad Ryland field goal. 3-0 Cardinals.
Drew Lock scrambled for a first down on Seattle’s second series. JSN caught a pass beyond the sticks on the next play, but ran backwards and behind the marker. That mattered a ton, as Seattle lost yardage on the next snap and Lock threw it away on third down for another punt. Arizona punted it back to Seattle on the next series, and that’s when the fun finally began.
Lock threw a looping ball to Jadarian Price for a clutch 15-yard gain on third down.
Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price combined for 53 of the 58 yards on Seattle’s scoring drive, as the Seahawks established a ground game and used both players in the as receiving options. A.J. Barner was called upon to start the second quarter to convert 2nd and 1 and then score from a yard out on The Barnyard. 7-3 Seahawks.
It was very much a battle of the punters for the remainder of the first half. Seattle was flat out robbed of an Ernest Jones fumble recovery. Trey McBride had the ball punched out shortly before the two-minute warning, only for the officials to rule that McBride’s forward progress was stopped. That is not reviewable, so Seattle had a turnover ripped away by horrible officiating.
Ball don’t lie, though? Seattle had a 7-play, 81-yard drive featuring the usual greatness of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who caught three passes and drew a defensive PI on Max Melton. A throw over the middle from Lock to AJ Barner was snagged for a touchdown. After a lengthy review, the TD was upheld! 14-3 Seahawks.
Dante Fowler Jr finally got his first Seahawks sack, stripping Gardner Minshew of the ball before the half expired. Arizona recovered the loose ball to prevent Seattle from possibly adding points before halftime.
Seahawks vs. Cardinals 2nd half recap
The Cardinals drove into Seahawks territory, but DeMarcus Lawrence was on scene for his first sack of the season and another punt forced!
A long 11-play, 57-yard drive took over half the third quarter off the clock. Seattle stayed on schedule with third-down conversions and Arizona penalties, although Drew Lock was grabbing his right hip during this drive. Seattle had a big Jadarian Price run negated by two holds and a block in the back all on one play. Lock’s injury perhaps encouraged Seattle to call second- and third-down runs and just set up a Jason Myers 45-yarder. 17-3 Seahawks.
As was the theme almost the whole game, the Cardinals got a first down and then it was punt time. Seattle had the ball for a good chunk of the early portion of the fourth quarter, taking off four minutes and traveling 26 yards. A would-be third-down conversion to Zach Charbonnet on a free play was one of the most exciting snaps of the season. Charbonnet broke several tackles and channeled his inner Marshawn Lynch by sonning the Cards defense for 25 yards. None of it counted thanks to a Jalen Sundell unnecessary roughness penalty, which was seemingly deemed during the play and not post-play, so instead of 1st and 10 it’s 3rd and 20. Seattle punted the ball back after more annoying officiating.
You thought that was bad? Josh Jobe picked off Gardner Minshew after playing tight defense on Trey McBride. They rewarded McBride for falling over and negated the interception, allowing a new set of downs.
McBride made his typical excellent grab on a 4th and 1, with Julian Love covering him extremely well. Good defense, better offense.
With the game more or less at stake, a 4th and goal throw to McBride was incomplete, broken up by Nick Emmanwori! Devon Witherspoon was flagged for taunting McBride, but it was AFTER the play and therefore the turnover on downs was upheld. Of course the officials had a flag to throw.
Zach Charbonnet and A.J. Barner got a few first downs to run the clock out, which is always a welcome sight to see. 17-3 Seahawks FINAL.
Seahawks vs. Cardinals full box score
Seahawks injury report
- QB Drew Lock went into the medical tent in the third quarter after holding onto his right hip. He returned on the next series.
Next week’s opponent
The Seahawks go on the road to play the Las Vegas Raiders (4-5) on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1:05 pm PT on CBS. It’ll be their last game before their bye week.
