Special teams gave Seattle the jolt it needed again in Week 2, and this time the break came in the opening minutes of the second half.
Chazz Surratt pounced on Rashid Shaheed’s fumble on the kickoff to start the third quarter, then turned the loose ball into a long return that flipped field position and set up the Seahawks’ go-ahead score in a 31-7 win over the Cardinals on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
The sequence started with the game tied 7-7. Shaheed lost the ball at his own 28-yard line, and after a brief scramble for it, Surratt grabbed it and sprinted 35 yards to the Cardinals’ 37. What started as a botched kickoff ended up functioning like a 62-yard return to open the half.
Four plays later, Drew Lock hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a 7-yard touchdown to put Seattle ahead 14-7 with 12:27 left in the third quarter. It was one of three scoring connections between Lock and Smith-Njigba on the day.
Seattle kept pressing from there. Julian Love followed with a diving interception on Arizona’s next possession, and that takeaway led to a 33-yard Jason Myers field goal.
Lock and Smith-Njigba hooked up again for another touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and A.J. Barner capped the surge with a 1-yard run in the closing minutes.
It was the second straight year Seattle got a Week 2 lift from an unusual special teams moment. Last season, the Seahawks’ kickoff coverage unit delivered the game-turning play against the Steelers. After Seattle had taken a 17-14 lead early in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh let a kickoff roll into the end zone without covering it, and George Holani dove on it for a touchdown.
In Other News...
Seahawks Made A Statement And One Decision Still Demands Debate
The Seahawks 31-7 win over the Cardinals in Week 2 gave Seattle plenty to feel good about, from a defense that set the tone to a quarterback performance that steadied things in Sam Darnolds absence. Julian Love stood out on the back end, and Drew Lock gave the offense enough poise and production to keep Arizona from ever finding a foothold. Even the passing game had encouraging signs, especially in the way Jaxon Smith-Njigba is beginning to look like a bigger part of the plan than he did under the previous setup.
Still, one sequence lingered after the final whistle. Brian Fleurys decision on a 4th-and-goal early in the game left plenty of room for debate, especially in a matchup where Seattle had already established control and could have pushed for an even firmer grip. The result was a statement win either way, but it also served as a reminder that the Seahawks are still sorting through some game-management choices even while the broader picture looks encouraging. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Fans Have Every Right To Be Angry After Another Seahawks Collapse
The Seahawks gave their division rivals another frustrating afternoon Sunday, rolling past the Cardinals 31-7 and keeping a streak alive that has become its own kind of burden for Arizona. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was central to Seattles control of the game, scoring three touchdowns as the offense repeatedly turned drives into points and left little margin for a Cardinals team trying to keep pace.
Arizona did manage one trip to the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play, but it never seriously changed the shape of the game. Even with that score, the Cardinals could not close the gap, and the result stretched Seattles grip on the matchup to ten straight wins, a run that will only sharpen the frustration around a rivalry that has felt one-sided for a long time. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Are Starting To Look Like A Team Nobody Wants To Face
The Seahawks are starting to look like a team built to make Sundays uncomfortable for everyone else. In a 31-7 win over the Cardinals, Seattle extended its winning streak to a franchise-record 12 straight, and it did it with the kind of balance that tends to travel well. Backup quarterback Drew Lock handled the offense efficiently, throwing for 235 yards and three touchdowns while the Seahawks piled up 381 total yards and kept Arizona to just 150.
What stands out is not just the streak, but the way Seattle keeps finding different paths to the same result. Even with a backup under center, the Seahawks controlled the game from start to finish and never let the Cardinals find a foothold. For a team that already looks locked in, the bigger question now is how long this run can keep going before somebody finally slows them down. [Read more 🡒]