The first place Seattle Seahawks extend their lead in the NFC West with another dominant win, their fourth-straight. Their latest victim? The Arizona Cardinals (again) by a final score of 31-21.
Buy Seahawks TicketsSeattle’s defense shined once more, holding the Cardinals to only 262 total yards and 14 offensive points (their other touchdown came via pick-six, but more on that later).
The Seahawks took care of business against a beatable opponent and have a much-needed victory to show for it. Seattle has swept Arizona in the season series for the first time since 2018, and thanks to a Rams loss to the Buccaneers, continue to be in the driver’s seat for a division title.
In yet another impressive victory where all phases of the game played well, no Seahawks will land on the Duds list this week. Instead, we have likely set a Seahawks Wire record for the number Studs we have listed.
No. 1 Stud - Geno Smith
The box score alone does not land one on the Studs list. Yes, Geno Smith had a rather fine day statistically speaking, completing 76% of his passes for 275 yards, two touchdowns against one interception and rushing for 38 yards.
But Geno Smith is a Stud this week for how he handled adversity. Smith has played clean, largely mistake-free football all season long. On Sunday he threw a terrible interception on a screen pass which was promptly returned 30 yards for a touchdown to give Arizona a 14-10 lead. Seattle’s offense was slow going up to that point, and the pick-six could have been a harbinger against the Hawks.
Instead, Geno Smith led a 13-play, 75 yard drive which was capped off with a touchdown to reclaim the lead. It worked so well the first time Smith went ahead and led another 13-play touchdown drive the very next series.
Many have been waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop with Geno Smith, or wondering when he will come back down to earth. At this rate, said-shoe might have left orbit.
No. 2 Stud - Kenneth Walker III
The Seahawks’ next door neighbor, the Seattle Mariners, boasted one of the best bullpens in all of baseball this year. The Mariners had a coterie of great pitchers who routinely saved the day by closing out wins.
It seems the Seahawks have found a closer of their own in rookie running back Kenneth Walker. The Michigan State star had 109 yards on the ground from 22 carries, and two touchdowns.
But when Walker is scoring these touchdowns is making all the difference. Sunday marked the third straight game Walker has found paydirt late in the game to push the margin of victory to two-scores. He did so against the Chargers, last week versus New York, and now in Arizona.
No. 3 Studs - The Seattle Broncos
Much has been said about this dynamic rookie class for the Seattle Seahawks, and with good reason. Their top picks aren’t just starting, they’re directly contributing to Seattle’s success.
But what hasn’t been talked about enough has been the known commodities the Seahawks received from the Denver Broncos in the Russell Wilson trade.
Noah Fant has been a reliable, if sparingly used, option in Seattle’s stable of tight ends. Against the Cardinals, Fant had his best day as a Seahawk. Fant hauled in five receptions for 96 yards, including a 51-yard reception on their knockout touchdown drive to finish the game.
Meanwhile, defensive end Shelby Harris has quietly had a solid season, and on Sunday had one of four Seattle sacks on the afternoon.
No. 4 Stud - Fumble recovery skills
The Seattle Seahawks have enjoyed a considerable turnaround on defense in one particular category: forcing and recovering fumbles.
Last year, the Seahawks in 17 games only forced nine fumbles. Through nine weeks in 2022 the Seahawks have already forced 16 and recovered 10 of them.
Safety Ryan Neal continued his solid play by forcing a crucial fumble of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. On 4th and short, Murray escaped a sack and scrambled for nine yards before Neal knocked the ball away.
The fumble directly cost Arizona at least three points since it happened deep in Seattle territory, forcing them to go into the half trailing 10-7.
No. 5 Stud - Shockingly great injury luck in Glendale
The Seahawks have enjoyed plenty of wins over the years at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, but they have often come at a painful cost. This field has a dark history of being the Graveyard of the Legion of Boom.
In 2017, Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman both suffered season ending injuries during a Thursday Night Football game. Chancellor’s injury proved to be career-ending, and Sherman was eventually released by the Seahawks following the season.
The next year, Earl Thomas broke his leg during the final year of his contract. The final image of Thomas in a Seahawks uniform was him flipping off the Seahawks sideline, being carted away.
Even in 2020, the Seahawks had one final game in Arizona when they had to play the 49ers since they could not play in Santa Clara due to COVID-19 policies. Jamal Adams was injured, and it clearly affected his play the following week during their 30-20 loss in the Wild Card to the Rams.
To be able to escape Arizona without a brutal injury is a win all by itself.
