The Seattle Seahawks earned a 17-3 home win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Nov. 8, relying on depth while multiple starters were sidelined.
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The Seattle Seahawks returned home to Lumen Field on Sunday evening with a 17-3 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, overcoming multiple injuries to key players and keeping pace in the defending-champions’ “it takes all 70” culture.
Seattle entered the Week 9 game with several top contributors sidelined. The Seahawks played without quarterback Sam Darnold, defensive tackle Leonard Williams, receiver Rashid Shaheed, left tackle Charles Cross, outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, and newly-acquired left guard Quenton Nelson.
Even shorthanded, Seattle built a lead and maintained control throughout. With Drew Lock again playing in relief of Darnold, the Seahawks used expanded roles from players including Rylie Mills, Mike Morris, Dante Fowler Jr. and Connor O'Toole to cover for Williams and Nwosu. On offence and special teams, Tory Horton and Jadarian Price helped cover Shaheed’s absence in both the return game and the passing game. Anthony Bradford and Josh Jones also contributed as part of a game that the team described as sack-free for Lock.
Seattle outgained Arizona 295-198 and held the Cardinals to 13 first downs compared to Seattle’s 21. The Seahawks’ defence limited Arizona to one field goal, with 89 of the Cardinals’ 198 yards coming on their opening drive.
Tight end AJ Barner scored both of Seattle’s touchdowns, including a 1-yard sneak and a 7-yard pass from Lock. After the win, Barner said the team got its confidence and “swagger” back, adding that the group “got a win at home and get our swagger back. Guys played well and I think there is a whole other level that we can get to.”
Barner also described how the team responded after a tough stretch, saying, “You got to create it, man. You got to weather the storm sometimes, or create the storm yourself. Everyone's kind of been going through it, and again you just got to remain focused, block out the noise and trust in your ability and the work that you're putting in every day.”
Veteran safety Julian Love echoed the theme, saying the win “felt like us” and pointing to the balanced execution on both sides of the ball. Love said, “Offense was doing their thing. Drew Lock played a great game, running backs ran their butts off, O-line played ball, and on defense, when we went to the ball, I think we played pretty violent today… but the swagger, the Seahawks style, was definitely present today.”
Head coach Mike Macdonald framed the performance around the team’s roster depth message. In his postgame comments, Macdonald said, “Proud of our team… A lot of noise this week with injuries and other things going on, so just the poise that we showed, the 12 is One (mentality). We said this game was like the power of our 70 with the depth we were going to lean on with the bottom of our roster, and guys did a great job of stepping in, not flinching.”
Macdonald highlighted Fowler’s impact in Nwosu’s absence. Fowler, signed as a free agent and working with a limited role earlier this season, recorded his first sack as a Seahawk and also forced a fumble. After the win, Fowler said, “There wasn't no dropoff… All the guys that had to step up… and it still looked like the ones were out there, so that was pretty cool.”
Derick Hall, who had a team-high three tackles for loss, also pointed to the importance of players beyond the starters. He said, “Mike speaks about 70. It's not just a 53-man roster, but the backups and practice squad stepping up, having the opportunity to come out and play, playing dominant football, and being successful.”
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