Top Seahawks takeaways from 31-7 road win over Cardinals

The Seattle Seahawks cruised to victory over the Arizona Cardinals with a dominant 31-7 road win. Seattle extended their current win streak to a franchise-best 12-straight, and their 10th-straight over Arizona. It was slow going at first without Sam Darnold under center, but the Seahawks found their stride in the second half and completely smothered the Cardinals.

Seattle is now enjoying a 2-0 start for the second time in the last three seasons. They will aim to improve to 3-0 for the second time under head coach Mike Macdonald with a road game against the Washington Commanders next week who will likely be without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels. But before we look too far ahead, we need to discuss Seattle’s Week 2 win over the Cardinals.

Here are Seahawks Wire’s Top Takeaways from Seattle’s 31-7 beatdown in the Valley of the Sun.
stands alone on the mountain top

I wrote last week about how the Seahawks, despite making Jaxon Smith-Njigba the highest paid wide receiver in NFL history, likely have him on a bargain contract. That’s simply how valuable he is as a player! In Week 2, I’ll double down on that sentiment and perhaps take it a step further by saying his contract is arguably a discount at this point. JSN completely torched the Cardinals’ secondary by catching nine receptions for 155 yards and three touchdowns. He became the first Seahawk receiver with three scores in one game since DK Metcalf did so in 2023 and cracked Seattle’s Top 10 when it comes to franchise career receiving yards. Right now, JSN is once again leading the NFL in receiving yards (277) and will be gunning for another Offensive Player of the Year award. At this point, is there anyone who doubts who the best receiver in the NFL is right now?
is the ideal backup quarterback

He has no drama. He has no ego. He is not going to genuinely threaten Sam Darnold’s position as starter. Oh, and most importantly, he can win you games. Technically speaking, Darnold was credited with the “win” last week over the Patriots since he started the game. But we know the Seahawks don’t win that game without a solid performance from Drew Lock coming in as cold as cold gets. Against the Cardinals, Lock did get to claim victory and he earned every bit of it by completing 19-of-26 passes for 235 yards. All three of his touchdown passes went to JSN, including his very first throw of the game. Seattle needs competant quarterback play in Darnold’s absense, and Lock provides just that.

How can that be? Well, when you go for it on 4th down you are aggressive. When you run the ball too muh you are conservative. When you run the ball a fourth-straight time on 4th-and-goal from the one, after being stuffed the three previous plays in a row, you are somehow being both in the worst way possible. The only reason Seattle did not have a lead going into halftime was because Fleury opted to run it on 4th down instead of taking a chip shot field goal to make it a 10-7 game. If you are going to be that aggressive and decline easy points in what was a defensive affair, you’ve simply got to be more creative. This is now the second-straight slow start for Seattle’s offense. While I will give Fleury credit for making great halftime adjustments (scoring on all four second half possessions) it would be nice to get things going a little more consistently early on.
is a one-trick pony, and he isn’t doing that trick all too well right now

Shaheed was given a three-year, $51 million dollar extension this past offseason. So far it’s looking pretty hard to justify such a lofty contract. Shaheed is almost a non-factor in the passing attack, hauling in only three receptions for 35 yards, which included a brutal drop on third down. In the return game, which made him a superstar for the Seahawks last year, he only had three punt returns for 29 yards and two kick returns for 47. Actually, one of his kick returns almost ended in disaster when he fumbled the return to start the third quarter. Had it not been for linebacker Chazz Surratt to pick up his fumble, Seattle would have lost out on the possession they retook the lead with.
has dusted off the rust

Jason Myers struggled mightily during the preseason. Quite frankly, it was shocking. Myers missed a field goal in each of Seattle’s three preseason games, including a game-winner in a 9-9 tie against the Chiefs. He also missed PAT’s in two of the games as well. So far in 2026, he’s made all three field goal attempts and all five PAT’s. Myers even connected on his 300th career field goal. No, none of these have been particularly challenging attempts, but kicking is such a mental game it’s great to see Myers working through some of the rust he clearly had. The Seahawks have an elite kicker in Myers, and it’s nice to not have to worry about him.

Seattle’s rookie running back Jadarian Price had a solid outing, rushing 52 yards on 13 carries. Although he lost a fumble, it clearly didn’t affect him as he still carried the ball with power and confidence afterwards. Unfortunately, he did leave the game late with a chest injury. X-Rays after the game came back negative, but his health will surely be monitored. If Price isn’t ready to go, not to fear, because Emanuel Wilson showed he was more than capable of carrying the load. Wilson wore down the Arizona defense with 21 carries for 92 yards and was a driving force behind the two final touchdown marches.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Top Seahawks takeaways from 31-7 road win over Cardinals