What Went Right/Wrong in Cardinals' loss to Seahawks

Things didn't go quite the way the Arizona Cardinals wanted them to go in its rematch with the Seattle Seahawks. Here's what went right and wrong.

Richie Bradshaw | Nov 7, 2022

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Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals weren't able to seal the deal against the Seattle Seahawks in a game that wasn't as close as the final score may indicate. In spite of some stellar individual plays, the overall performance from the team left quite a bad taste in the mouth of fans and this loss is about as frustrating as they come.

Still, there were positives to pull from this game, and that's what we're here to do. Here is everything that went right and everything that went wrong for the Arizona Cardinals in their second loss of the 2022 season to the Seattle Seahawks.

What went right:

First quarter success!

Finally! The Arizona Cardinals scored a touchdown in the first quarter of a game in 2022! Better yet, it was the opening drive. You can't ask for much more than that.

The unit looked methodical, too, with Kyler Murray going 5/5 including a 22-yard touchdown strike to DeAndre Hopkins. It was the best the offense has looked all year and it had us feeling that finally, this game might be different...

Some highlight reel-worthy plays

This performance was largely forgettable for the Cardinals, but there were some really nice plays made throughout, including:

DeAndre Hopkins's second touchdown reception of the 2022 season
Kyler Murray juking Seahawk defenders out of their cleats
Isaiah Simmons heat-seeking missile sack
Zaven Collins's pick-six off Geno Smith

Beyond those plays, there wasn't too much else worth taking note of, as you'll soon read for yourself...

What went wrong:

Same game, different week

Honestly? The performance we saw this week out of the Cardinals felt no different than any of the others we have seen in 2022. The play-calling stinks, the defense stinks, and the final product stinks.

Offensively, Kyler Murray was about as average as it gets. Murray's 235-yard, two-touchdown day was much more spectacular for fantasy teams than he was in real life. The one stat from his performance we'll remember the most is the fumble he lost on a crucial fourth-down conversion that sunk what was a promising drive to end the first half. It took away crucial points that could have flipped this game.

The play-calling was no different than any other week, with the cute play designs built on moving the ball behind the line of scrimmage to be "sneaky" taking center stage, again. Even when the Cardinals found success from guys like Rondale Moore, they still pigeonholed the offense to its usual, predictable gimmicks. It's the same shtick that Kliff Kingsbury has used since day one and it's no more effective now than it was then.

Everything defensively except the pick-six

This defense is bad. I know that's not something we aren't used to hearing by now, but how do you go from scoring points on the defensive side of the ball to allowing three straight touchdown drives and then the game-ending drive all in a row?

Zaven Collins' pick-six should have been one of the stories of the game, and instead, we will forget about it until someone makes a highlight tape for the 2023 season. Byron Murphy also dropped an interception in the endzone that would have only been easier to snag if Geno Smith had actually walked up to him and handed him the ball. DK Metcalf scored on the next play.

It's just routine at this point to expect the Cardinals' defense to fall flat on its face and cause more harm than good. Even with a pick-six and some other splash plays throughout the game, the story of the defense is that it just stinks. No other way to put it.

Now sitting at 3-6, the Cardinals' 2022 season feels all but sunk at this point. There are positives to take from this loss, but the overall game leaves us with many more negatives to take away than positives.

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