Seahawks-Cardinals: Final

What happened in Seahawks-Cardinals what do you think about it?

Normally I start these post-game articles off with a sentence or two that avoids spoilers, but in this case would it even be possible? For the second week in a row and the third time this season, the Seahawks won a game that was no longer in doubt by the end of their third drive.

Seattle held a 35-0 lead late in the second quarter and beat the Arizona Cardinals 44-22 in Week 10, improving their record to 7-2. The Seahawks are now setup for a 7-2 vs. 7-2 showdown with the L.A. Rams next Sunday afternoon.

In Week 3, the Seahawks held a 38-6 lead over the Saints at halftime and last Sunday night Seattle was up 28-0 over the Moons late in the first half. The Seahawks have held a lead of at least 14 points in seven of their last eight games, winning all of those contests. The Seahawks are the only team in the NFL to score more than 31 points in a first half this season and they’ve done it twice with 38 points!

Maybe the only concern Seahawks fans could have right now is, “Are the Seahawks peaking too soon?”

(No, but I had to think of something.)

Sam Darnold only needed to complete 9 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown in the first half because Seattle’s defense — namely “Tyrice Knight on the sack fumble” and “DeMarcus Lawrence on the recovery for a touchdown” x2! — scored twice on their own.

#0’s second touchdown gave the Seahawks a 28-0 lead less than a minute into the second quarter and while the team didn’t necessarily turn down the volume, the equation for moving the ball had to change from there. Seattle’s defense has only allowed 2 first half rushing touchdowns in nine games all season, meaning that Lawrence has run the ball into the end zone as many times himself as all players have run in against the Seahawks in 2025.

If there was one issue that Seaside Joe harped on in the last few seasons of Pete Carroll’s tenure, it’s that good teams beat their opponents but great teams destroy them. Super Bowl teams embarass non-Super Bowl teams, at least sometimes.

The Seahawks lacked blowout victories in the back half Carroll’s Seattle career but now Mike Macdonald has won four games this season by at least 14 points, plus they really just shot themselves in the foot in their other three victories otherwise those games could have looked just like this one. Seattle even shot themselves in the foot several times on Sunday but despite several turnovers in the second half, the Seahawks’ win probability never dropped below 97%.

Panicking about any of Darnold’s turnovers (albeit not ideal plays in any scenario) would be like going to the ER for a scraped knee.

Jalen Sundell injury

The Seahawks center exited the game in the first half, leading to several bad snaps by Seattle’s backups Olu Oluwatimi and Bryce Cabeldue. Sundell was ruled out with a knee injury, so fans will have to keep an eye on his status after the game and later this week depending on what Macdonald says after the game and Monday morning.

At least Oluwatimi will have a week to practice snaps with Sam Darnold before facing the Rams.

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NFC powerhouses

NFC West:

• Seahawks, 7-2 (2-1 division, 4-2 conference)

• Rams, 7-2 (1-1 division, 2-2 conference)

• 49ers, 6-4 (3-1 division, 6-2 conference)

• Cardinals, 3-6 (0-3 division, 3-4 conference)

Not only did the Seahawks win 44-22, but the Rams beat the 49ers by a score of 42-26 and the Lions beat the Moons by a score of 44-22. Detroit is 6-3 with a 3-2 record in the NFC.

The NFC also has the 6-2 Eagles, the 5-2-1 Packers, the 6-3 Bucs, and the 6-3 Bears. Philadelphia and Green Bay face off on Monday night. The Seahawks are currently the 2-seed in the NFC and they’ll stay there even if the Eagles lose to the Packers because Philadelphia is 5-1 in the NFC.

Other than the Rams twice and the 49ers in Week 18, Seattle doesn’t play another NFC team that has a winning record right now. And the 49ers have been bad since they lost their two best defensive players.

More to say

There’s a lot more to say but I want to get this newsletter out as soon after the game as possible so that YOU can say what you want to say about it and I’ll share some of your comments in Monday’s Seaside Joe:

Seaside Joe 2442