Cardinals have lost 10 straight to Seahawks: What can they take away from Week 2?

TEMPE — The Arizona Cardinals played a tightly contested football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2 at home, for a half.

Arizona’s defense held up early, but the first three possessions of the second half went Seahawks touchdown, Cardinals interception and Seahawks field goal. Quickly, the game turned lopsided, tamping down the hype around Arizona’s Week 1 victory and continuing a recent dominant trend between these division rivals.

The Seahawks have beaten the Cardinals 10 straight times, dating back to 2021. Only three of the 10 games were decided by one score. If the Cardinals were the Dallas Cowboys’ boogeyman last week (9-1 in last 10), then the Seahawks have been nightmare fuel for the Cardinals.

Much has changed since Week 2, however, and Round 2 is a hugely important game for both teams.

The 4-4 Seahawks, in their Super Bowl defense, drop from a 54% chance to make the playoffs with a win at home on Sunday to 25% with a loss, according to Pro Football Focus. The Cardinals’ playoff chances plummet to nearly zero if they fall to 3-6, per PFF, and the trade deadline provides a pivot point to the season on Tuesday.

Since their last meeting, the Cardinals have changed starting quarterbacks from Jacoby Brissett to Gardner Minshew and placed several key offensive players on injured reserve — such as running back Jeremiyah Love, left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne. The defense has started to show signs of improvement, culminating in some key late-game stops last weekend in a 33-30 win at Dallas.

All eyes will be on how this Cardinals offense operates under Minshew, a sense of newness for a unit that had gone stale.

What won’t change is Seattle’s quarterback situation, as starter Sam Darnold will be out for this game, as he was the last time these two teams played. Arizona will face Drew Lock again.

The Seahawks made a blockbuster trade for three-time All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson, although he won’t be available due to a knee procedure. The hosts will be pretty undermanned, with left tackle Charles Cross and defensive tackle Leonard Williams also among those who have been ruled out.

Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur has seen this Seahawks team four times already in the past calendar year. As the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams last season, LaFleur faced Seattle three times, including the playoffs. He knows its defense well, and the Seahawks know his offense.

“You don’t want to overthink stuff,” LaFleur said of the pros and cons of such familiarity. “There’s that fine line.”

The Cardinals would catch the Seahawks in the standings with a win, but Seattle is motivated to “find themselves” after a Monday Night Football loss to the Chicago Bears.

Weather may also be an element, with rain in the forecast.

Seahawks vs. Cardinals: What happened last time?

(Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports)

Can the Cardinals contain JSN?

In Week 2, the Cardinals’ defense got burned on its second play by wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and from that point, it held the line through the end of the first half. Seattle’s first two possessions in the second half started in Cardinals territory, and the dam broke late as Arizona was futile on offense with only 10 first downs.

The Seahawks have not scored more than 20 points for three straight games, turning to Lock once again after he has been limited this week due to an elbow issue. Jalen Milroe is the backup quarterback.

The question for Arizona is whether it can limit Smith-Njigba from taking the game over like he did in Week 2 (nine catches, 155 yards and three touchdowns).

Smith-Njigba is the league leader in receiving yards and touchdown catches, and he accounts for 51% of Seattle’s receiving yards as a team this season.

“I think there’s a lot of layers to it in terms of how you can call it and scheme it up, the execution, the communication piece and then just having an understanding of where that guy is,” Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said. “He’s a guy that they’re going to try to get the ball to, and I think if you can understand situations and where he is and formations, it can give you a little bit of an edge.”

Seattle also has its running back duo healthy with Zach Charbonnet and rookie Jadarian Price, which did not get rolling last week but provide a different look for a defense. Rallis said Charbonnet has had his respect for a long time, as he had 85 yards and a touchdown last time he faced Arizona in 2025.

Without Nelson upfront as a mauler and the Seahawks searching for success on the ground, the Cardinals have an opportunity to put pressure on a compromised Lock if they can replicate Chicago’s success in quelling the run game (81 yards).

Can Minshew keep the momentum going?

Arizona’s offense was shut down entirely in Week 2.

Brissett threw for 95 yards for the game, and the Cardinals gained 44 total yards in the second half. Arizona’s 151 total yards were the third-fewest by a team in a single game this season, and the Cardinals failed to complete a pass of at least 10 yards for the first time this century.

Can Minshew keep the fire he provided last weekend burning?

Minshew threw for 188 yards and three touchdowns after entering last week’s game late in the third quarter. 

Minshew was decisive and pushed the ball downfield, but that was out of necessity and against a wobbly defense.

“We have a system, we know what we want to accomplish throughout the year, we want to continually get good at that, but then we’re working with Gardner to make sure we do the things that he’s successful at and that he likes,” Cardinals offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said.

Minshew is also not some great unknown, as he is 17-30 as a starter. He started nine games in 2024 with the Raiders, a season in which he got the ball out quickly but with one of the league’s lowest intended air yards average.

The veteran has built rapport with his targets like Trey McBride and Michael Wilson going back to offseason work, chemistry that the players in the locker room expect to make the transition smooth despite a week of change.

“This whole year, just been trying to find a way to contribute, try to help,” Minshew said. “Try to be a positive voice in the locker room and I have a different position to do that. So, just bringing good energy, keeping guys flying around.”

What lifted the Cardinals last week before Minshew got going was an explosive, 63-yard touchdown run from Tyler Allgeier.

The Cardinals on Sunday will be down not only Love but Bam Knight (concussion), so Allgeier looks like the bell cow with some less experienced options behind him.

The Seahawks have allowed the fewest yards per rush in the NFL this year at 3.5. They have not allowed a run over 39 yards.

Seattle also allows the fewest yards per passing attempt, as it is top four in the NFL in passing yards allowed, interceptions and quarterback rate allowed.

The Bears got them on Monday (34 points), but this defense — which will be missing key pieces, to be fair — has otherwise remained legitimate.

The Cardinals are very cognizant that they have to take advantage of every opportunity, as the margin for error will be small against this unit.

“I think everyone in our building has a ton of respect for Seattle’s defense,” Wilson said. “I think for us it’s just taking what the defense gives us and catching the ball, getting vertical and ball security, all those things. We looked at the tape from Week 2. There were a lot of plays that we could have had in that game. I think we played better, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to move the ball up and down the field. It’s easy to say that right now.”

A player to watch will be Nick Emmanwori, who was banged up and played nine snaps in Week 2. Over his last five games, Emmanwori has 29 tackles, eight quarterback hits and two sacks.

“He’s a freak,” LaFleur said. “He can play on the line of scrimmage, away from the passing strength. He can play into the boundary. He can play off the ball. He can back on out. … He can do it all.”

One area where the Cardinals could exploit a deficiency is the red zone, as the Seahawks have allowed touchdowns on 83% of red zone trips, the worst in the NFL.

The Cardinals struggled for a period to capitalize in the red zone under Brissett, but Minshew executed when given the chance last week.

The Seahawks are consensus heavy betting favorites, as were the Cowboys and Rams when the Cardinals beat them in the past three weeks. Arizona’s losing streak has to end at some point, and this game has the makings to say a lot about the rest of this season for both teams as the schedule flips to the second half.

Kickoff is at 2:25 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. 

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