GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have a Seahawks problem.
Tied at halftime against the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Cardinals bumbled their way through the second half of a 31-7 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday, extending their losing streak to 10 straight in the series.
“It's frustrating losing to the same team, just losing in general,” Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins said. “Especially when you know you have a good team, a really good offense, really good defense and special teams. It's just unfortunate.”
Arizona had a good stretch against Seattle starting in 2019, winning three of four against its NFC West rival.
It's been nothing but losses since.
Two were at least close, including 23-20 at Arizona last season. The rest have not been — seven by 10 points or more, including a 44-22 blowout at Seattle last season after falling behind 35-0.
The Cardinals kicked off this season with an impressive debut under coach Mike LaFleur, knocking off the Los Angeles Chargers 26-14.
They were solid early against the Seahawks on Sunday, playing to a 7-all tie at halftime despite several missed opportunities on offense.
Their hopes quickly unraveled with a series of defensive breakdowns and an offense that became stuck in the desert sand.
The Seahawks scored on their opening drive of the second half and kept pouring it on, turning a close game into a blowout that sent Cardinals fans to the exits early.
Seattle's vaunted defense clamped down on the Cardinals in the second half, shutting down their run game while pressuring Jacoby Brissett and limiting him to short throws underneath.
Brissett was limited to 95 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception on an overthrow. Arizona's wide receivers had four combined catches for 29 yards and the Cardinals were held to 151 total yards.
“They were good in their zone, their scheme,” Cardinals receiver Kendrick Bourne said. “They were prepared and we weren't able to hit the things we wanted to hit.”
Arizona's biggest problem defensively was stopping Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Seattle's dynamic receiver is the reigning Offensive Player of the Year and was a focal point for the Cardinals' defense, yet he kept finding ways to get between and behind them.
Smith-Njigba scored on an 82-yard pass from Drew Luck on Seattle's second play from scrimmage when Arizona safety Budda Baker moved toward an underneath route and let him run right by.
Smith-Njigba added a 7-yard touchdown catch on Seattle's opening drive of the second half and had a 21-yard score early in the fourth quarter to put the Seahawks up 24-7. He finished with nine catches for 133 yards.
“He's a very good receiver, arguably the best one,” LaFleur said.
The Cardinals aren't alone in not being able to stop Smith-Njigba, but his performance against them is a small part of their larger problems against Seattle.
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