Cardinals crash back down to earth with home-opening loss to Seahawks

GLENDALE — The first half of Sunday’s game between the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks was nothing short of a prize fight where each side was taking shots.

But by the end of the fourth and final round, it was the defending champions retaining the belt and flexing their pedigree and stamina over the upstart challengers in a 31-7 loss for Arizona.

The Seahawks swung first behind an 82-yard touchdown strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a suffocating defense that held the Cardinals offense in check through the first quarter of play.

No Sam Darnold, no problem for Seattle.

It didn’t take long for flashbacks of Seattle’s first-quarter domination last year to creep into the brain.

That was until the Cardinals got up off the mat for the second quarter and threw their own set of haymakers Seattle’s way.

It started with an equalizing Trey McBride touchdown on the first play of the quarter. After that, it was all defense.

Zaven Collins raised the bar the very next drive with a forced fumble and recovery. It was safety Andrew Wingard, though, who made the Seattle offense woozy with a swing in the form of a massive fourth-down stop on Arizona’s one-yard line.

A Budda Baker sack as the final seconds came off the clock in the first half put an exclamation mark on Arizona’s efforts.

Last year, especially late in the season, seeing Arizona bounce back midgame was a rarity. And after the last Seahawks matchup felt like it was over by the time halftime rolled around, Arizona clearly withstood the Seattle storm.

That was until the Seahawks found their second wind in the third quarter. You know those last year’s feelings that crept in during the first half? They were front and center for the second.

Flipping momentum back their way, the visitors needed just four plays to Smith-Njigba to find paydirt for a second time in the tilt.

An ugly Jacoby Brissett interception followed suit the very next drive, with Seattle turning that into points with a 33-yard Jason Myers field goal.

For all the good Brissett showed last week, he was far from sharp in the outing and nearly threw another pick on the ensuing possession.

He finished the game completing 60.7% of his passes for 95 yards, one touchdown and the interception.

WAIT FOR THE REPLAY. 😮‍💨 @_jlove20

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/c4mOKPiNFz

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 20, 2026

It wasn’t just on the signal caller, though, with the run game struggling to find much of any forward progress. Michael Wilson only caught two of seven targets, while Marvin Harrison Jr. did not reel in a catch (one target).

Jeremiyah Love was Arizona’s leading rusher with nine carries for 29 yards. As a whole, Arizona’s run game totaled just 46 yards on 15 attempts for a 3.1-yard average before Bam Knight took over late to run out the clock.

On the flip side, it was the Seahawks’ run game that salted away the game for much of the fourth quarter. The defense settled in, too, not allowing a score the rest of the way.

Arizona entered Week 2’s tilt with plenty of momentum and optimism that this time around against Seattle, things would be different. That losing streak that spanned nine games heading into Sunday would finally be erased.

But watching Arizona fans filter out of State Farm Stadium before the final whistle and hearing prominent “Seahawks” chants from the other side only magnified the fact there’s still plenty of separation between the two franchises.

At least for now, that losing streak extends another game, with head coach Mike LaFleur now 0-1 against the division with a road game against the San Francisco 49ers next up.

Which Cardinals team will we see then?

Related

CBs Max Melton, Will Johnson exit Cardinals-Seahawks with injuriesCardinals legend, Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald throws out first pitch at Diamondbacks gameRoy Lopez, Isaiah Adams active for Cardinals-SeahawksCardinals to play on ‘Rivalries’ field design to match with uniforms in home openerCardinals mailbag: Just how surprising was Kendrick Bourne’s production?Cardinals-Seahawks keys to victory: Turnovers, Marv and more