The Cardinals did not stand much of a chance against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, as they found themselves down 28–0 halfway through the second quarter. It is easy to blame this on the quarterback play, but, to be honest, this loss is more on the defense and offensive line.
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett was sacked five times by the ruthless Seattle front seven, twice by Tyrice Knight, who forced two fumbles that were recovered for touchdowns by Demarcus Lawrence. But all in all, Brissett did not play that badly, as he completed 22 of 44 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
While the performance may look bad on the scoreboard, it shouldn’t change head coach Jonathan Gannon’s mind about who should start when Kyler Murray is healthy, as the offense has continued to look much better under Brissett.
Gannon admitted that it was a team failure in his postgame presser and that this loss doesn’t fall on one player or group individually.
“Just got behind early versus a good team,” Gannon said. “It’s tough to dig yourself out, so not a lot of good from that game.”
The only bit of silver lining in the game was that Arizona’s two top pass catchers each found the end zone on the receiving end of Brissett’s touchdown passes. Trey McBride, who caught nine passes for 127 yards, found paydirt about halfway through the third quarter on a 15-yard reception. Marvin Harrison Jr., on the other hand, had a relatively quiet game, with only three catches for 33 yards, but he scored in the fourth quarter on a 9-yard pass.
Brissett needs to keep relying on these two, as when they make plays, good things seem to happen.
The Cardinals have the week to rest up before returning home to play the San Francisco 49ers (6–4), who are coming off a demoralizing home loss to the Los Angeles Rams.