Having quarterback clarity for the first time in weeks didn’t mean much as the Cardinals were doubled up 44-22 in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
At 3-6 and 0-3 in the NFC West, Arizona’s playoff hopes are firmly on life support and it’s health on a grander scale is questionable, with wide receiver Zay Jones (Achilles) and others suffering apparent injuries in Seattle.
The Cardinals got down as many as 35 points (35-0) on Sunday and defensively did not have any answers to the Seahawks’ run game, which racked up 198 yards and a pair of scores on 46 carries.
One of the lone bright spots of the game was the performance of tight end Trey McBride, who eclipsed the 100-yard mark (127) for the first time this season on nine receptions and added a touchdown.
Arizona Sports hosts react to how the Cardinals were shell-shocked by the Seahawks (7-2):
Rapid reactions: Cardinals lose any shot at momentum with Seahawks loss
Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta:
The Cardinals have eight games left, and all that’s remaining to be played for is evaluation of who wants to/should be back with this team in 2026. And that goes for player, coaches and executives. But there’s plenty of time for those discussions.
Some observations about this bloodletting in Seattle:
– How could this team be so unprepared to play against a division foe? I’ve been watching the Cardinals for a long time and the first 22 minutes of this game was the most lopsided stretch of football I’ve witnessed. After Zach Charbonnet’s 6-yard touchdown run with 8:33 to go in the second quarter, the Seahawks led 35-0. At the same point of Seattle’s infamous 58-0 romp over the Cardinals, that game was only 24-0. If you shut the TV off, I don’t blame you. For gluttons, it was 38 minutes of stat-filling dreck.
– What was with all the slipping and sliding by Cardinals players? It was especially prevalent in the first half (when everything went wrong), but Jacoby Brissett, Greg Dortch and Bam Knight looked like they were on ice skates — and this was on a rare day featuring sunshine at Lumen Field.
– I know he had the cosmetic touchdown in the fourth quarter, but this was another step back for Marvin Harrison Jr. After a confident and productive night in Dallas on Monday, Harrison really struggled making contested catches Sunday — something that has plagued him throughout his young career.
– Trey McBride is an animal, and I mean that with the utmost respect. Down 38-7 and McBride is out there hurdling defenders on a fourth-down play to move the sticks. Remarkable.
– Blocking and tackling are two staples of football. They were two staples missing from the Cardinals’ performance on Sunday.
– Sam Darnold threw one pass in the second half. The Seahawks’ 12 passing attempts breaks a record for the fewest ever thrown by a Cardinals opponent (since 1988). Jim Harbaugh of the Chicago Bears only had to throw 14 times in a 31-21 win over the Cards at Sun Devils Stadium in Week 8 of the 1990 season. It’s also the fewest passing attempts for any team in the league this season.
– And seeing Walter Nolen III grabbing at his knee and limping off the field with assistance late in a blowout game was about the most Cardinals thing of the day. Just an absolute bummer.
– Not calling for anyone’s job, but this type of embarrassment has cost coaches their jobs in this franchise’s not-so-distant history.
John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo:
This had the possibility of a bloodbath from the get-go.
Arizona was without three key defensive players going into Seattle on a short week with the Seahawks playing like the best team in the league. Not surprised the Cardinals lost by double digits, but no one saw a 35-0 hole and how it happened with the two fumble returns for touchdowns.
Arizona showed some heart — Trey McBride had a great game with nine catches for 127 and a TD. Jacoby Brissett was pressured all game — sacked five times in the first half. He didn’t have much of a chance in this one versus that front seven.
Bad game for the Cardinals. First time they were not in one, but a loss is a loss.
Now 3-6, Arizona is for all intent and purposes out of it.
Mitch Vareldzis, co-host of Arizona Sports at Night
So much for any goodwill built up from the Cowboys win.
As much as I want to create defenses for this team, and there are plenty, this game was over when the Seahawks carved up the depleted defense in the opening drive, followed by the Cardinals offense giving the Hawks an extra seven points.
The Seattle rushing attack destroyed this defense today (198 yds rushing), after struggling to run over anybody all season. Sam Darnold was at his worst after the opening drive but it ultimately didn’t matter. Marvin Harrison Jr once again forgot how to catch a football.
The only bright spot was Trey McBride, but you can’t win football games with just an other-worldly tight end.
As the coaches always say: It takes all 11.
Now at 3-6, and 0-3 in division games with another next week (49ers), this season has without question reached “cross-off” status.
I was already displeased with this team’s decision to stand pat as a seller at the trade deadline. Now it looks even more foolish given that this stinker was what followed.
To make matters worse, more injuries happened in the second half, and the ones I’m headlining are Darius Robinson and Walter Nolen III. The Cardinals need these young guys if they hope to establish the next great Cardinals team, but even that feels like hyperbole at this point.
This organization feels no where close to producing “the next great Cardinals team” right now. All that makes headlines nationally anymore is QB controversy or scathing articles about bad organizational culture.
I look forward to the day it’s just about a good football product and nothing more. Maybe by the turn of the decade, if I can be optimistic.
Tyler Drake, ArizonaSports.com Cardinals reporter and co-host of Cardinals Corner
That was bad. So much for those good vibes…
Much like the Week 4 loss to Seattle, this one felt over by halftime.
Arizona’s offensive line deserves a lot of the blame in this one. No matter if it was Jacoby Brissett or Kyler Murray under center, this one had the makings of a blowout from the jump. The injuries to Walter Nolen III and others didn’t help matters by any means.
Nine games left to try to put something competitive on tape before the offseason hits and necessary changes begin.