Tight end AJ Barner rushed for one touchdown and caught a pass for another as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the visiting Arizona Cardinals 17-3 Sunday afternoon in an NFC West matchup.
Drew Lock, starting for the injured Sam Darnold (quad), completed 19-of-28 passes for 175 yards for the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks (5-4). Zach Charbonnet rushed for 77 yards on 16 carries and reigning NFL offensive player of the year Jaxon Smith-Njigba had seven receptions for 51 yards.
Gardner Minshew II, making his first start at quarterback for the Cardinals (3-6) was 21 of 30 for 166 yards. Tyler Allgeier had 46 yards rushing on 17 attempts.
Arizona’s All-Pro tight end Trey McBride caught seven passes for 54 yards. It was McBride’s 11th consecutive game with seven or more receptions, tied with the Los Angeles Rams’ Cooper Kupp, now with the Seahawks, for the second-longest streak in NFL history. Former Pittsburgh standout Antonio Brown holds the record with 14 games in a row.
Seattle’s “Dark Side” defense limited the Cardinals to 198 yards of total offense and sacked Minshew three times.
The Cardinals’ opening possession started at their own 1-yard line following a 57-yard punt by Seattle’s Michael Dickson.
Minshew drove Arizona 89 yards in 10 plays before Chad Ryland kicked a 28-yard field goal.
The Seahawks took a 7-3 lead on a 1-yard run by Barner, who lined up under center in his team’s “Barnyard” formation, on the second play of the second quarter.
The Seahawks executed a successful two-minute drill before the intermission after they took over at their own 19 with 1:45 left. Lock found Smith-Njigba for receptions of 4, 13 and 18 yards on the drive, plus another play on which the Cardinals were called for pass interference that resulted in a 29-yard penalty. Lock hit Barner with a 7-yard scoring strike up the middle with 15 seconds left for a 14-3 halftime lead.
Seattle’s Jason Myers kicked a 45-yard field goal with 3:50 left in the third quarter to extend the advantage.
The Cardinals reached Seattle’s 2 with less than five minutes remaining but Minshew’s fourth-down pass for McBride fell incomplete and the Seahawks ran out the clock.