Seahawks Beat Cardinals 17-3 Without Sam Darnold and Six Other Starters

18 flags, 3 points, no Darnold

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No Sam Darnold. Six other starters out. 18 flags from the officials. And Arizona still scored 3 points.

Those came on the first drive, thanks to some creative refereeing, and Seattle won 17-3. Backup Drew Lock threw at practice on one day all week, then played the whole game without an interception or a sack.

And with four and a half minutes left, Arizona had fourth-and-goal at the 2. What happened next took a 22-year-old safety, a taunting flag, and a drive that started at Seattle’s own 1.

Sources ESPN Yahoo Sports KJR 93.3

18 flags and a goal-line stand

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Darnold cracked a rib on the second play against Chicago and hurt his quad on the last drive. So it was Lock, whose sore elbow had kept him inactive for two weeks. Six other starters sat, including Quenton Nelson, the Pro Bowl guard Seattle traded for two weeks ago, who played one game and then needed a knee procedure. Mike Macdonald called it “a 70-man roster week.” That’s coach for “look who isn’t here.”

It started beautifully. Michael Dickson punted 57 yards, and the ball died at the Arizona 1. Then the officials got involved. On third-and-4, a 25-yard sideline catch was ruled in bounds. Macdonald challenged. The call stood. Then Ernest Jones drew 15 yards for a hit to the helmet, and Arizona kicked a field goal. 3-0.

After that, Arizona’s offense mostly stopped existing. Its next seven drives gained 61 yards. Nick Emmanwori, the 22-year-old safety, kept blanketing tight end Trey McBride, Arizona’s best receiver, on third down. Julian Love on his teammate: “Whether he’s hitting the quarterback or he’s in coverage, he’s a problem.” The pass rush was missing three regulars and still had three sacks, including Dante Fowler Jr.’s first as a Seahawk and DeMarcus Lawrence’s first of the year, at 34, in his final season.

Seattle should have had a takeaway, too. Ernest Jones punched the ball out of McBride’s hands and Seattle recovered it, but the officials ruled McBride’s forward progress had stopped, which can’t be reviewed. Officially: zero takeaways. Hold that thought.

The offense did just enough. Jaxon Smith-Njigba passed 1,000 receiving yards for the season in the first quarter. Of Week 9. He’s the third Seahawk with three straight 1,000-yard seasons, and one of the other two, Steve Largent, was in the building. AJ Barner scored both touchdowns, and he gets his own chapter. The second one came right after the one flag nobody in Seattle complained about. Cornerback Max Melton ran straight into JSN on a deep ball without ever turning around. Twenty-nine yards. Two plays later, it was 14-3.

Then the flags kept coming. Lock hurt his side in the third quarter, walked into the blue medical tent, and walked back out. His version: “Went into the tent. Had it looked at. Came back out.” Jason Myers made it 17-3. Zach Charbonnet broke several tackles on a 25-yard catch-and-run, and a roughness flag on center Jalen Sundell erased it. Josh Jobe intercepted Minshew, and was flagged for pass interference on a play where McBride appeared to simply fall down. Arizona kept the ball.

That’s the drive from the top. Arizona got first-and-goal at the 4. Lawrence dropped the running back for a loss. Devon Witherspoon stopped Minshew at the 2. On third down, Emmanwori ran down a receiver crossing the end zone. Fourth-and-goal. Minshew threw to McBride, and Emmanwori reached around him and knocked it away.

Then Witherspoon was flagged for taunting. After the play. Half the distance to the goal. One yard. So Seattle started at its own 1 with four and a half minutes to kill. Arizona burned all three timeouts in three plays, Charbonnet broke off 17 yards, and the Cardinals never touched the ball again.

Seattle came in with the worst red-zone defense in the league. Julian Love, afterward: “Right now we’re not very good at it.” On Sunday, they were. That’s 11 straight wins over Arizona, Seattle’s longest streak ever against one team. Arizona’s coach, Mike LaFleur: “It was a collective effort to only score three points.” It was. We all pitched in.

Sources ESPN play-by-play ESPN box score Seahawks.com KJR 93.3 Everett Herald Yahoo Sports Seahawks.com AP

Golden Egg: AJ Barner

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The day after every game, the newsletter hands out the Golden Egg. This week it goes to tight end AJ Barner.

Through eight games, Barner had no receiving touchdowns. On Sunday he touched the ball five times, gained 10 yards, and scored twice. He opened his press conference with “Long time, no see.”

The first came out of a formation Seattle calls the Barnyard. Two extra linemen check in, and the tight end takes the snap himself. One yard, then one more, then a stomping celebration. The second was the 7-yard catch, which made him the first Seahawk since Chris Carson in 2019 to score both ways in one quarter. It went to replay. His review of the review: “They called it a catch on the field. They reviewed them. They called it a catch. So it’ll live on as a catch forever.” Correct.

And with 2:41 left, on third-and-1, Seattle ran the Barnyard one more time. First down. Game over. Ten yards, two touchdowns, and the first down that ended it.

Sources Seahawks.com KJR 93.3

Next: Las Vegas, and your turn

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Next Sunday, Seattle plays the 4-5 Raiders in Las Vegas, then gets its bye. The Raiders’ coach is Klint Kubiak, who was Seattle’s offensive coordinator last season, the season Seattle won the Super Bowl.

Darnold misses that one too. Macdonald said Monday that Lock should start, oblique and all. Lock is 3-0 filling in this season, with five touchdown passes and no turnovers.

Last week I said one more loss would give Seattle its first losing record of the season. It didn’t lose. Seattle is 5-4, tied with the Rams, and one spot out of the playoffs.

So, one question. After the bye, Seattle goes to San Francisco. If Darnold is healthy, who starts: Darnold or Lock? Tell me in the comments.

Sources Seahawks.com Yahoo Sports