The Seahawks improved their season record to 6-3 and kept them atop of the NFC West with a dominating 31-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals. The win gives the Seahawks the season sweep over the Cardinals. What made the win over the Cardinals for the Seahawks is the way they were able to exert their will on their opponent when they need to.
Three long drives in the second half after an interception showed the Seahawks are a team on the rise because of the belief they have in each other.
THE OFFENSIVE LINE IS ONE OF THE BEST
The offensive line struggled in the first half managing ten points on two drives, two punts, and a stalled 4th down attempt. The start of the second hand was even worse. A three and out was followed by an unforgivable sin by Geno Smith. Well, it was unforgivable when Smith engineered three consecutive drives to put the game out of reach. In the second half, the Seahawks converted 7 of 8 third down attempts. The final 3rd numbers were 10of 15 for 66%. More impressive was the team’s 4-4 red zone efficiency.
GENO SMITH CAN OVER ANYTHING
One trait you want in your leader quarterback is the ability to bounce back after a bad play. On Sunday Smith show his resiliency after a major third-quarter blunder. After Cardinal defender Zaven Collins pick sixed a Smith screen pass in the third quarter Smith was able to gather himself and move on.
What was most impressive about how Smith bounced back was that he did not press or force plays. On the ensuing offensive drive, Smith engineered a 13-play 75-yard that ended with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett. The Seahawk’s offense was 5-5 on third down. On the next two scoring drives, Smith used his arm to continue the offensive explosion. Smith used his legs as well. He ran for 28 yards on four carries. Passing wise Smith completed 11 of 14 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown. For the day Smith was 26 of 34 for 275 yards two TDs and one interception for a 106.9 quarterback rating.
THE DEFENSE IS FOR REAL
One of the biggest questions going into the game was how would rookie Tariq Woolen and the rest of the defense deal with Cardinal All-Pro wide receiver De Andre Hopkins. Hopkins missed the first game between the two teams. Well, the Woolen and the Seahawk’s defense did just fine thank you very much. Hopkins finished with four catches for 36 yards and just one touchdown. The Cardinal’s top receiver on Sunday was Rondale Moore who finished with eight receptions for 69 yards but no touchdown. Give credit to the Seahawk’s D line and edge rushers. Their constant pressure on Murray was relentless.
Uchenna Nwosu had two sacks on the day which brought his season total to seven. That number is a career-high and team-high for the season. Bruce Irvin had his first sack since his second coming with the team and Shelby Harris recorded his second sack of the season. All of Harri’s sacks have been against Kyler Murray. Woolen finished the day with four tackles one for a loss and a one-on-one pass defense on Hopkins in which he batted the ball away forcing an Arizona punt.
