For the fifth time in the last seven years, the Seattle Seahawks were embarrassed at home by the Arizona Cardinals. For whatever reason, the Cardinals always seem to know the trick to defeating the Seahawks in Seattle.
Of all the losses in the past seven years, Sunday’s was without a doubt the most disastrous in the recent series. The Seahawks looked absolutely futile in every aspect of the game, leaving little room for hope moving forward.
Before the day began, the Seahawks were on the inside track for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, a first-round bye, and a division title. Now, they are staring directly at a wild card spot, perhaps even as low as the No. 6 seed, with a trip to either Lambeau Field or a return to Philadelphia.
There is no other way to put it – this one was brutal. As a result, there are only duds and no studs in Week 16.
No. 1 duds – The Seahawks offense
Two weeks ago, the entire Seahawks offense made the duds list for a miserable performance against the Rams. Now they are back after an even more dreadful outing.
Facing off against perhaps the worst defense in the NFL, the Seahawks were absolutely stymied. Seattle opened with an 89-yard touchdown drive, and after that, the offense only managed to pass the 50-yard line once on their own power.
Yes, you read that right. Against the Cardinals, the offense only passed the 50-yard line twice all Sunday.
The most emblematic sequence for the offense was when Seattle blocked an Arizona field goal and returned it 46 yards to the Cardinals 16-yard line. Seattle was only down 20-7, and a touchdown would have put the Seahawks right back in it.
Instead they gained four whole yards and settled for a field goal of their own.
No. 2 duds – The Seahawks defense
Yup, Sunday was about as complete a team failure as it could get. While the Seahawks offense was unable to even pick up first downs against Arizona, the Seattle defense couldn’t manage to stop the Cardinals when it mattered most on Sunday.
On Arizona’s second possession of the game, running back Kenyan Drake ripped off an 80-yard touchdown run right through the middle of the Seahawks defense on the first play. Drake led the way with 166 yards on 24 carries for two touchdowns, as the Cardinals racked up 253 rushing yards as a team.
Trailing 20-13 late, the Seahawks were still clinging to hope until the defense allowed a nine-play, 78-yard touchdown drive to end the game.
Perhaps the biggest crime was the fact rookie quarterback Kyler Murray left the game with an injury, and it was former Seahawks backup Brett Hundley who led the upset charge.
No. 3 duds – Health
Although there were plenty of other reasons why the Seahawks failed on Sunday, such as poor play-calling, blocking, tackling, and inability to capitalize on major moments, it’s clear the team’s overall health is a major concern.
The Seahawks have suffered an unusually high number of injuries these last two weeks among some of their most critical players. Going into the game, Seattle was already without Jadeveon Clowney, Duane Brown – who is going in for knee surgery on Monday – Shaquill Griffin and Quandre Diggs.
Against the Cardinals, they lost starting running back Chris Carson and backup C.J. Prosise for the year with injuries. That is now three running backs, including Rashaad Penny, the Seahawks are without moving forward.
Starting tight end Will Dissly and starting center Justin Britt had already both suffered season-ending injuries earlier in the year.
The Seahawks have had to dig deep into their reserves, and now the backups are starting to get hurt. At this point, it’s more than fair to wonder if they’ll have the manpower for even one playoff victory.
