The Cardinals got exactly the kind of start they needed in Seattle, then watched the game slip into the same old offensive slog.
Arizona opened with a march down the field and a field goal for a 3-0 lead, but that was about as good as it got. From there, the offense stalled out, the punter took center stage, and the Cardinals never found any real rhythm in a 31-7 loss to the Seahawks.
There were a few bright spots on a rough afternoon. S Budda Baker kept doing Budda Baker things, piling up tackles and setting the tone early.
He had seven stops in the first half alone, then added more work in the run game with a stop on RB Jadarian Price in the second quarter and another on RB Zach Charbonnet in the third. Baker finished with 11 tackles, second-most on the team.
S Andrew Wingard was just as active. He helped bottle up Price late in the first quarter, teamed with Baker to limit TE A.J.
Barner to a one-yard gain on the first play of the second quarter, and later got Charbonnet on the ground after a one-yard run in the third. Wingard led Arizona with 12 total tackles.
P Blake Gillikin also earned his mention. In the first half, he punted four times for 184 yards, including a long of 55, and half of those kicks landed inside the 20. He finished with six punts for 269 yards and a 44.8 yards-per-punt average.
K Chad Ryland did his part too, knocking in the 28-yarder on the Cardinals’ opening drive. That was Arizona’s only scoring play of the game.
The rest of the story was uglier. Third-down efficiency was a disaster, with Arizona going 1-for-6 in the first half and 4-for-13 overall.
The Cardinals managed only 110 total yards before halftime, including 68 through the air and 42 on the ground. They finished with just 13 first downs, and nine penalties for 97 yards kept burying drives.
The possession chart tells the story as cleanly as anything: FG, punt, punt, punt, punt, downs, punt, punt, downs.
Arizona also didn’t lean on its tight ends nearly enough. Trey McBride had only two targets in the first half, catching both for seven yards, while Elijah Higgins saw one target and one catch for four yards.
McBride got more involved later and finished with seven receptions for 54 yards, but he also dropped the touchdown on the fourth-down play. Teagan Quitoriano barely factored in as well.
The pass rush never showed up. Seahawks backup QB Drew Lock had time to work, and Arizona came away with zero sacks and just three QB hits.
Josh Sweat, Andrew Billings, and Dante Stills each had two tackles, while Roy Lopez, Darius Robinson, and L.J. Fehoko finished with one apiece.
Seattle still managed 175 receiving yards, and Lock repeatedly escaped pressure, including five positive rushes.
QB Gardner Minshew was steady but not dangerous. He went 11 for 14 for 85 yards in the first half, then settled into a more productive second half without ever pushing the offense into another gear. He finished 21 for 30 for 166 yards, with a 5.5 average per pass completion, three sacks, one carry for 4 yards, and an 83.5 QB rating.
In Other News...
Cardinals Offense Faces Immediate Heat After First Post-Brissett Letdown
The first game after the Jacoby Brissett trade brought a quick reality check for the Cardinals offense, which managed only a field goal in a 17-3 loss to Seattle. Gardner Minshew was steady enough in spots, completing 21 of 30 passes for 166 yards, but the unit never found a rhythm against a Seahawks defense that kept Arizona out of the end zone and put pressure on the pocket throughout the afternoon.
Afterward, head coach Mike LaFleur pointed to the offenses underperformance as the issue that stood out most, especially in a difficult road setting. For a Cardinals team trying to move forward without Brissett, the bigger concern is not just the score line but how quickly the group can settle in and avoid letting one flat outing turn into a longer stretch of missed chances. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Sweat Just Put Arizonas Trade Deadline Focus On One Decision
Josh Sweat has become one of the more interesting names attached to Arizonas trade deadline conversation, and not just because the Cardinals are still sorting out where they stand as the deadline approaches. After a recent game, Sweat brushed off the speculation and said he is focused on playing, even as the talk around him has only grown louder. For a team trying to balance present needs with long-term planning, that puts one of its more important edge players squarely in the middle of the discussion.
The reason the chatter has legs is that this is not just idle rumor season noise. Sweat is playing on a four-year deal with no guaranteed money left beyond the current season, which naturally makes him a name rival teams would monitor if Arizona becomes willing to listen. The Cardinals now have a decision to make about whether to keep him in the fold and push ahead, or treat the deadline as a chance to reshape the edge rush room while the market is still active. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Loss Exposed A Problem This Offense Keeps Making Worse
The Cardinals Week 9 loss to the Seahawks offered a familiar and frustrating snapshot of where this offense stands right now. With Gardner Minshew making the start at quarterback, Arizona ran into pass protection problems early and often, and the offense never found a steady rhythm to match a defense that did enough to keep the game within reach. The result was another setback in a season that has slipped to 3-6, with the kind of offensive issues that tend to compound when a team is already fighting uphill.
Arizonas defense held up well enough to give the offense chances, but penalties and breakdowns on the other side kept undercutting any momentum the Cardinals tried to build. For a team trying to stay afloat in the NFC, the concern is no longer just one bad afternoon, but a pattern of offensive mistakes that keeps showing up in the same spots and making every comeback attempt harder than the last. [Read more 🡒]