What we learned from Arizona Cardinals' disappointing loss in Seattle
SEATTLE — The Cardinals had spent a month avoiding the type of plays that make you want to bury your head in your hands and beg to be teleported somewhere — anywhere — else.
Sunday in Seattle was the opposite. It was an afternoon defined by those moments.
None was more glaring than midway through the second quarter, when cornerback Coby Bryant intercepted Kyler Murray, sprinted down the left side, leaped into the air, emulated Marshawn Lynch’s "Beastquake" celebration and tumbled into the end zone. The closest potential Cardinals tackler was center Hjalte Froholdt, which reveals how much of a chance they had.
In the stands, neon green and blue limbs tumbled on top of each other. On the sideline, the Cardinals wanted to evaporate.
It was the defining — and emblematic — blow in a 16-6 loss to the Seahawks, which dropped the Cardinals to 6-5. They are now tied with Seattle for the NFC West lead.
Here’s what we learned in the defeat:
The NFC West is going to be a battle
Before Sunday, there was a future in which the Cardinals ran away with the NFC West. Maybe that was a utopian vision, but it was a possibility. With a win, they would have been 3-0 in the division with a possible two-game buffer atop the standings.
The problem with that notion is that the NFC West has four competitive teams. The 49ers, who are temporarily without Brock Purdy, continue to fall short of expectations. The Rams have been riddled by injuries. But even if both those teams fall away, the Seahawks are a formidable challenger. And now, the Cardinals must beat them in Glendale in two weeks or they’ll lose the tiebreaker between the teams.
If the division doesn’t go down to Week 18, it’ll be a surprise.
Cardinals offensive line struggled mightily
All season, the Cardinals have found success with their physicality. They’ve dominated teams on the ground, then used that threat to open up space in the passing game. The offensive line has been at the center of it all, creating holes for James Conner and space for Kyler Murray.
Not on Sunday. Murray was pressured on 14 of 43 dropbacks and sacked five times. Even the Cardinals’ most reliable offensive linemen, like Froholdt and left tackle Paris Johnson Jr., were beaten for sacks. On one second-half sequence, Seattle's Leonard Williams came up the middle to blow up a run play on first down, then beat Johnson off the edge on third down.
The run game was even worse. The Cardinals did not create any lanes for James Conner, who finished with 8 yards on seven carries.
“That makes it hard when you're in obvious passing downs pretty often,” right tackle Jonah Williams said. “I feel like we were behind the sticks a lot. So it just comes down to: All of us have to execute a little bit better on first and second down and keep us out of those obvious passing downs.”
It’d be natural to blame the lack of continuity. This week, Williams was activated after missing nine games due to a knee injury. He immediately returned to the lineup, replacing Kelvin Beachum, who had been stellar in his absence. It was the first time the personnel on the offensive line had changed since the Cardinals began winning in mid-October.
But the problems were not limited to Williams’ side. They happened all over the offensive line, against a defensive line that ranks around league average in pass rush win rate and pressure rate. It was uncharacteristic of this unit, and it doesn’t fall on one player.
Kyler Murray didn’t deal well with pressure
One of the more impressive aspects of Murray’s season has been his ability to deal with pressure. Sometimes, that means breaking out one of his magic acts to escape the pocket. Other times, it’s standing in calmly and hitting a receiver.
Entering Sunday, he was averaging 6.3 yards per attempt under pressure, just a tick off his career best. In those situations, he had thrown three touchdowns and just one interception.
Sunday was different. On 14 pressures, Murray was 1 for 8 for 4 yards and the game-changing pick-6.
“We just played uncharacteristic football,” Murray said when asked about those struggles. “And then again, credit to them. I felt like they kind of dominated.”
Cardinals made uncharacteristic mistakes
As the game progressed, the Cardinals' offense increasingly lacked answers. But early on, they were undone by little mistakes, the types of plays that they have often avoided this year.
On Arizona's first possession, Trey McBride came back to the ball on a third-down completion and went down just shy of the line to gain instead of fighting for the extra yardage. He finished with another impressive day — 12 catches for 133 yards — but that moment cost the Cardinals a possession.
Later in the first half, Greg Dortch could have had a deep completion on third down but didn’t track back toward a pass along the sideline. That timidity enabled a defender to fly in for a pass breakup.
The Cardinals also nearly had a fumble returned for a touchdown because they gave up on the play before the whistle. It was overturned into an incompletion, but it was millimeters away from costing them seven points.
Those are the little moments that Jonathan Gannon insists his team must win. On Sunday, they didn’t.
“I'm pissed off at myself,” Jonathan Gannon said. “Because I'm the first culprit.”
Cardinals defense still impressed
For all the frustration of Sunday’s loss, the Cardinals defense should bear little of the blame. They allowed just 285 yards and 10 points — another impressive performance from a unit that has gone from beleaguered to dominant over the past month.
Gannon didn’t quite see it that way after the game. He said that he opted for a “tight menu” of plays this week, a decision that he later regretted.
“We've gotta have a couple more bullets,” Gannon said.
But overall, the defense performed well against a Seahawks offense that averages 352.4 yards and 23.0 points per game.
Garrett Williams’ acrobatic end zone interception in the fourth quarter was the highlight, but this was an all-around effort. The Cardinals got home for five sacks, including four on third downs. They did not let any of the Seahawks stars — DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Kenneth Walker — beat them. Their young cornerbacks and unheralded defensive line were both strong.
And, once again, they showed that this defense can help lead the Cardinals to the playoffs, even if Sunday was a step in the opposite direction.
(This story was updated to add new information.)