GLENDALE - For a half, the Arizona Cardinals had the Seattle Seahawks right where they wanted them. Then Jaxon Smith-Njigba took over and turned Week 2 into a runaway.
Seattle left State Farm Stadium with a 31-7 win on Sunday, moving to 2-0 and handing Arizona its first loss of the season. The Cardinals had been tied 7-7 with the defending Super Bowl champions at halftime, but the game swung hard after the break and never came back.
Smith-Njigba was the difference-maker from the opening drive to the final blow. He finished with three touchdowns, the first three-TD game of his career, and each one seemed to strip a little more life out of Arizona.
The early jolt came on an 82-yard strike that put Seattle ahead 7-0. The play came after a three-and-out by Arizona, and Smith-Njigba found himself alone deep downfield because of a busted coverage and communication issue between Will Johnson and Budda Baker. It was the kind of mistake that can change the feel of a game in one snap.
Arizona answered in the second quarter with a gutsy fourth-and-goal call from the two-yard line. Instead of taking the field goal, the Cardinals went for the touchdown and got it, with Trey McBride beating single coverage to get them on the board and square things up.
The Cardinals also made a stand right before halftime. Seattle had fourth-and-goal from the one and looked ready to reclaim the lead, but Andrew Wingard shot into the gap and stopped the runner short. That stop sent Arizona into the break still level and with real momentum of its own.
The second half belonged to Seattle. The Seahawks opened with strong field position, starting at the Arizona 37, and Smith-Njigba quickly punished Max Melton in man coverage for his second touchdown of the day. From there, the Cardinals never found a clean answer.
By the fourth quarter, the game had turned into a showcase. Smith-Njigba beat Budda Baker for his third score and strolled into the end zone as Seattle stretched the lead to three possessions. At that point, there wasn’t much left for Arizona to cling to.
Smith-Njigba’s performance was the headline, but the bigger story was how completely Seattle flipped the game after halftime. Arizona had chances.
The Cardinals had the break they wanted. They just couldn’t survive the avalanche once the Seahawks got rolling.
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