Arizona Cardinals snap scoreless 1st-quarter streak vs. Seattle Seahawks
Oct 16, 2022, 1:42 PM | Updated: Oct 17, 2022, 12:33 am
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rondale Moore (4) runs against Seattle Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs (6) during the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
(AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
The good news: the Arizona Cardinals scored in the first quarter.
The bad news: That was about all the offense did against the Seattle Seahawks over the first two opening frames, trailing 9-3 at halftime.
Let’s start with the good:
Entering Arizona’s Week 6 matchup against Seattle, the Cardinals had been outscored 38-0 in the first quarter over the first five weeks of the season.
But thanks to a Matt Ammendola 23-yard field goal, Arizona finally put some first-quarter points on the board for the first time all season.
Unlike the first five games of the week, the Cardinals came out with a head full of steam behind the arm and legs of quarterback Kyler Murray.
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After finding wide receiver Rondale Moore for a short gain on the first play from scrimmage, Murray turned to his legs, picking up three yards on a designed run before ripping off a massive 42-yard scamper.
In just three plays, Murray and the offense moved the chains from their own 19-yard line to Seattle’s 33.
The chunk plays weren’t done there, either, with Murray finding Moore for a 26-yard catch-and-run to set up the offense with a new set of downs at the three-yard line.
But just as it looked like the offense was well on its way to its first first-quarter touchdown of the season, the drive sputtered.
Running back Eno Benjamin, who got the starting nod in place of the injured James Conner, managed to get Arizona up to the goal line, but couldn’t cross the plane.
Murray’s effectiveness through the air and on the run also took a dip, with the signal caller getting forced out for negative yardage on an option before failing to connect with A.J. Green on third down. A wide-open Hollywood Brown was missed in the corner of the end zone.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that quick score was about the only good that came out of the game for Murray and Co.
Despite going up against arguably the worst defense in the NFL, Arizona was held to just three points offensively, with the team’s lone touchdown coming off a punt block.
