Cardinals’ smothering in Seattle raises plenty of questions

The Arizona Cardinals turned their bye week into a buh-bye week.

As in, farewell to their 28-day stranglehold on first place in the NFC West.

They were smothered by the Seahawks defense in a 16-6 loss in Seattle. Their offensive line was demolished at the point of attack, creating no room for James Conner (a meager eight yards on seven carries) and no protection for Kyler Murray (five sacks). Outcomes rarely come less complicated in the NFL.

The loss raises plenty of questions. Did the Cardinals lose rhythm and momentum during their bye week, which came after consecutive blowouts of the Bears and the Jets? How did the offensive line get worse with the return of Jonah Williams, who had been injured since the first quarter of Week 1? And what is going on with rookie Darius Robinson, who was inactive once again?

With the loss, the Cardinals ceded first place to the Seahawks based on tiebreaker criteria. It also raised the stakes for their rematch at State Farm Stadium in two weeks, which now appears to be a must-win game for Arizona if they want to contend for a division title. Their epic struggles with Seattle’s mediocre defense won’t inspire confidence moving forward.

The loss was an anticlimactic ending to one of the biggest weekends of football we’ve seen in the Valley. It came 24 hours after ASU’s field-storming victory against BYU in Tempe, when Kenny Dillingham’s clock management traumatized a fan base he is furiously activating.

In recent weeks, the Cardinals have feasted on dysfunctional programs. They are a disciplined, well-coached team that knows how to lock into a road game and a game plan. But Seattle was a different kind of opponent, bullying the Cardinals with a swarming defense, when Leonard Williams looked like the division’s newest version of the retired Aaron Donald.

Murray had some good moments. He played courageously. He passed for 285 yards, including 12 completions to star tight end Trey McBride. But he was under duress for the entirety of the game. And his worst moment of the day was extremely costly.

Rolling right on 4th-and-1, realizing he was not going to beat Seattle’s Devon Witherspoon to the edge, Murray floated a desperation pass well over Michael Wilson’s head. It was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Coby Bryant.

The quarterback has been stellar at protecting the football and not throwing reckless interceptions, where he has just 16 picks in his past 30 games. But his mistake on Sunday was a killer.

With the flat performance offensively, Arizona lost a great opportunity to carve out a two-game lead in the NFC West. They watched Seattle win its sixth consecutive game in a rivalry gone wrong, holding the Cardinals to just 49 rushing yards.

But the Seahawks deserve all the praise. They were the better team with the better quarterback. They were more physical and far more desperate. They kept the Cardinals out of the end zone during a goal-to-go situation, the first time that’s happened all year.

Unlike the Cardinals, the Seahawks were reeling entering their bye week, having lost five games in the span of six weeks. They responded with huge wins against San Francisco and Arizona. It was clear they wanted it more because all cliches are grounded in truth.

The latter is very disappointing. And the offensive performance on Sunday is exactly what we feared when the Cardinals temporarily unplugged their season.

Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta mornings from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on Arizona Sports.

Follow @danbickley