Did we just watch a Seahawks game stress-free two weeks in a row? That’s something I could get used to, but I know I won’t. The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Arizona Cardinals for the second time this season, completing the season sweep 44–22 at home. The Seahawks jumped out to a 28–0 lead early in the second quarter, and it was pretty much over from there.
DeMarcus Lawrence had two defensive touchdowns, both fumble recoveries from Tyrice Knight strip-sacks. Lawrence became the sixth player since 1991 to score two defensive touchdowns in the first half. When Zach Charbonnet scored to make it 35–0 midway through the second quarter, I started getting flashbacks to Seattle’s 58–0 beatdown of the Cardinals in 2012. The Seahawks came to play Sunday, and they meant business.
On the opening drive of the game, Sam Darnold delivered a beautiful deep ball to, who else but, Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 43-yard touchdown. JSN had four catches for 82 yards by the end of the first quarter and finished the game with… drumroll please… five catches for 93 yards. Smith-Njigba didn’t have another catch until the fourth quarter because, with Seattle being up by so much, Darnold only had to throw the ball 12 times. But even with Seattle not having to pass a ton, Jaxon Smith-Njigba became the first receiver in the NFL to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark this season.
I’ve been super critical of the Seahawks’ run game this season and mentioned they needed to get it figured out in my game preview. Boy, did they ever. Seattle ran for a season-high 198 yards, and both Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker busted out long runs. But, of course, Walker didn’t find the end zone. I wasn’t going to make a note of this, but third-string back George Holani even got a red-zone carry and found paydirt. I’m sure Walker will find the end zone soon enough, even though he hasn’t scored since Week 3.
This was almost a perfect game for the Seahawks, they dominated in all three phases and handily beat a divisional rival. But, like I said, almost perfect. Seahawks center Jalen Sundell went down with a knee injury in the first half and didn’t return, causing Darnold to fumble a snap that led to the Cardinals’ first score of the game. Then the Seahawks had another two turnovers in a weird third quarter for the offense, but luckily the defense held its ground and didn’t let any hope creep into the Cardinals’ minds of a possible comeback.
Rashid Shaheed made his Seahawks debut after being acquired from the Saints on Tuesday. He had two rushes for 20 yards and one catch on a screen pass for three yards. Given that he’d been in Seattle for less than a week, I wasn’t expecting a huge game from him out of the gate, but I definitely expect him to be more involved in the offense next week.
The Seahawks face off against the Rams in what will be the biggest game of the year, with both teams sitting at 7–2 and fighting for the NFC West title.
