Grading Cardinals' Ugly Collapse vs Seahawks

The Arizona Cardinals could have taken their destiny into their own hands and retaken first place in the division.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) jumps over Arizona Cardinals cornerback Starling Thomas V (24) during the second quarter at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Dec. 8, 2024. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Arizona Cardinals had another golden opportunity to split the series with their division rivals the Seattle Seahawks and retake first place in the NFC West. Yet again, the Cardinals failed to take advantage.

Failures across the board contributed to a poor outing at home in State Farm Stadium that left the Cardinals fanbase dejected and ready to lose hope in what had at one point looked like a historic turnaround for a historically beleaguered franchise.

Nearly everyone contributed in some way to this team-wide failure and there are plenty of points of major concern as the Cardinals enter what was supposed to be the easy stretch of their schedule.

Offense

Quarterback - D-

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray adjusts his helmet before playing against the Seattle Seahawks at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Dec. 8, 2024. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of the worst Kyler Murray performances in recent memory in what was arguably the most important game of his career.

If only the ending stat line is considered it doesn't seem like Murray was so terrible: 25/38, 259 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INT.

If you watched the game, however, it is clear that Murray's inexcusable back-to-back interceptions that both led to Seahawks touchdowns were the major difference in the game. After, he played scared and clearly rattled.

Murray had the chance to prove himself as the long-term franchise solution at quarterback for a promising and up-and-coming team but now has several serious questions being asked about his suitability for that role. The lights were too bright on Sunday, and this was frankly an unacceptable performance for a six year NFL vet.

Offensive Line - D

Nov 26, 2023; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. (70) during pregame warmups before playing the Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-Arizona Republic / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

In the first half of the season the Cardinals offensive line was one of its strongest units and a nice surprise after most expected the worst due to injuries to two key starters, Jonah Williams and Will Hernandez.

Instead, the position played great, nearly mistake-free football until the return of Williams to the lineup in the first Seahawks matchup. There is no way to fully blame this collapse on that, but it has been seen in the past that messing with an offensive line's unit cohesion midseason can have serious consequences.

Particularly, Paris Johnson Jr. had been putting up a great season and protecting Murray at a high-level. In the past three weeks he has committed more penalties than the first half of the season combined.

Just like the first matchup, the Seahawks' defensive line manhandled the Cardinals and put Murray in a tough position all afternoon.

Tight End - B-

Dec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) against the Seattle Seahawks in the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

What can you say? Trey McBride finished another game as the Cardinals' leading receiver doing what he does week in and week out.

McBride is probably the most reliable and competent offensive player on the team at the moment and continues to make a name for himself as one of the best tight ends in the league.

In fairness, he was less efficient in this game only catching 50% of the ball thrown his way, thus the lower than usual grade.

Tip Reiman had the longest catch of his career, a 14-yarder early in the first half.

Running Back - B-

Dec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) runs against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

James Conner did what he could, but that proved to be fairly limited when it mattered in the first half when the offensive line proved incapable of opening any serious lanes for him.

Conner ended the afternoon with a fine stat line of 90 rushing and 32 receiving yards, but a lot of those rushing yards came later in the game when the Seahawks had already started to play a keep-away defense and were not manhandling the offensive line nearly as much.

Another week and more proof that this offense does not function as intended unless Conner can get off to an early start.

Wide Receiver - C

Dec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson (14) catches a pass and scores a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Once again, the No. 4 pick of the most recent NFL Draft being beat out in receptions and yards by a tight end and Michael Wilson is frankly unacceptable.

Marvin Harrison, Jr. had some good grabs in all fairness to him, including a few great ones called back from offensive line mistakes. He flashes his talent at least once in nearly every game, but that quarterback-wide receiver connection is still missing.

On the bright side, Michael Wilson is consistently a more than capable WR2 as evidenced by his early long touchdown and should remain as a long-term member of this wide receiver corps.

Defense

Defensive Line - D

Dec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) against the Arizona Cardinals in the first half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The defensive line simply did not show up on Sunday.

Geno Smith had the luxury of time in the pocket to find receivers downfield or take check down after check down and slowly beat the Cardinals defense into submission.

After a few weeks of finding ways to pressure the quarterback at a high rate, the defensive line completely disappeared again and did not generate a single sack and the two quarterback hits of the afternoon both came from linebackers.

Linebacker - C

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. (2) pressures Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) during the second quarter at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Dec. 8, 2024. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

An average grade for an average performance.

The linebacker group didn't make any spectacular mistakes but also did not signifianctly impact the game in a positive way. In a day of utter failure across the board, perhaps that is the most that can be asked of them.

Zaven Collins and and Mack Wilson, Sr. were the only Cardinals to even put a hand on Smith all afternoon and for that do deserve some credit.

Otherwise, linebacker play was adequate and Kyzir White keeps looking like a solid NFL-caliber starting middle linebacker.

Secondary - C

Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) scores a touchdown ahead of Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) during the second quarter at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Dec. 8, 2024. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It is easy to tell when a game went wrong just by looking a game's final stat line. If the strong safety finishes with nearly 20 combined tackles, something went very, very wrong.

Budda Baker will always do Budda Baker things simply because of who he is as a person and player but when he is putting up 18 combined tackles in a game, things are not going well for the team as a whole.

Part of the problems with the secondary in this game was the lack of help from up front, putting the coverage defenders in a tough spot trying to cover for extended periods of time.