The Seahawks didn’t just beat the Cardinals. They rolled them, 31-7, and the final score looked a lot more like the game than the 7-7 tie at halftime ever did. Seattle took control after the break and kept leaning on Arizona until the whole thing turned into a blowout.
For a while, the opening stretch had the usual Seattle-Arizona feel, but the Seahawks started finding Jaxon Smith-Njigba and never really stopped. Drew Lock opened the scoring by hitting JSN for a touchdown, and when Trey McBride answered with a fourth-and-goal score to even things up, the Cardinals were still hanging around. That didn’t last.
Arizona had a chance to seize some momentum when Jadarian Price fumbled and the Cardinals recovered, but the drive that followed ended with Emanuel Wilson getting stuffed on fourth-and-goal at the 1. From there, Seattle took over for good.
Lock found Smith-Njigba again for another touchdown, Julian Love came up with a huge interception that set up a field goal, and then Smith-Njigba finished off a hat trick as the Seahawks kept stacking points. “The Barn Yard!”
sealed the 31-7 final.
One of the bigger storylines on the Arizona side came after the game, where Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic wrote about Marvin Harrison Jr. and how rough this start has been. Harrison entered the season with a new coaching staff and a new starting quarterback, and there was hope that a change in situation would help him after two uneven seasons. He had averaged just 51.5 yards per game over his first two years and gone over 75 yards only five times.
Instead, the numbers have gone the wrong way fast. In Week 1, Harrison had one catch on three targets. After a quiet Week 2, he has now run 68 routes this season, been targeted four times, and caught just one pass.
Mackie also noted how unusual that kind of stretch is for a receiver drafted that high. Over the past decade, 12 wide receivers have gone in the top 10 of the NFL draft, and among that group only three have had a two-game stretch in their first three seasons with one reception or fewer: Mike Williams, John Ross and Harrison.
In Other News...
Former Seahawks Receiver Is Suddenly Becoming A Raiders Talking Point
Cody White has gone from a familiar name in Seattle to an unexpectedly useful piece for Las Vegas, and his latest outing only added to the attention. Elevated from the Raiders practice squad shortly before the game, the former Seahawks receiver made his presence felt on offense and on special teams, giving Las Vegas a steady lift in a spot where the team was clearly looking for someone to step forward.
For Seahawks fans, the interesting part is not just Whites production, but how quickly he has become part of a broader Raiders trend. Head coach Klint Kubiak has brought in multiple former Seattle players, and Whites recent two-touchdown game is the kind of performance that tends to keep a players name circulating well beyond one Sunday. The bigger question is how much of this is a one-week surge, and how much is the start of a larger role. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Payton Nearly Turned Seahawks Scouting Into A Week 6 Feud
Mike Macdonalds first season in Seattle had an unexpected subplot well beyond the usual chess match of NFL coaching. In a recent interview, the Seahawks coach said Broncos head coach Sean Payton threatened to go public with accusations that Seattle had engaged in a Spygate-like cheating scheme after the Seahawks used publicly available fan-recorded training camp video to study Denver.
The issue never became a formal scandal because the Seahawks pushed back and were prepared to respond legally, and Payton ultimately backed off. Even so, the episode adds another layer to the leagues long memory of sign-stealing disputes, and it shows how something as ordinary as publicly accessible practice footage can still set off a tense standoff between two veteran coaching staffs. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Suddenly Have A QB Decision Fans Didn't Expect
Sam Darnolds return to the practice field could put the Seahawks in an unexpected spot entering Sundays game against the Washington Commanders. Sidelined since Sept. 9 with a glute strain, Darnold is expected to work on Wednesday in some capacity, giving Seattle its first real update in a stretch that has kept the quarterback situation in flux.
Mike Macdonald left the door open for Darnold to play if the week goes well, but Drew Lock has made the conversation more complicated. In two games filling in, Lock has completed 35 of 48 passes with four touchdowns and no turnovers, giving Seattle reason to believe it can keep rolling even as the team weighs how soon to turn back to its starter. [Read more 🡒]