Lock to Smith-Njigba, Three Times: Champs Roll Cardinals 31-7
Starting for an injured Sam Darnold, Drew Lock threw all three of his touchdowns to Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks pulled away from Arizona with 24 unanswered second-half points.
Championship teams are supposed to survive their backup-quarterback games. The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks did rather more than survive on Sunday: with Drew Lock making his first start since the end of the 2024 season, Seattle beat the Cardinals 31-7 in Arizona to move to 2-0, per Seattle Sports.
One connection, all day
Lock, in for Sam Darnold after the starter injured his glute against New England a week earlier, threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns — every one of them to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year finished with a career-best nine catches for 155 yards and three scores, opening with an 82-yard strike against busted coverage and adding touchdowns of seven and 12 yards.
The kickoff that decided it
The game was level at 7-7 at halftime. Then the second-half kickoff turned chaotic: Seattle came up with a loose ball and linebacker Chazz Surratt advanced it 35 yards, setting up the short touchdown drive that opened a run of 24 unanswered points, per the Cardinals' own recap. Safety Julian Love added a sliding interception of Jacoby Brissett, getting his hand under the ball just before it hit the turf.
Arizona's passing game, meanwhile, barely existed. Tight end Trey McBride caught eight balls for 41 yards and the Cardinals' lone touchdown, but the team's top three wide receivers — Marvin Harrison Jr., Kendrick Bourne and Michael Wilson — combined for four catches and 29 yards, and Arizona finished with fewer than 100 passing yards. "It was hard to find completions today," Brissett admitted.
What it means
Seattle has now beaten Arizona ten straight times, and the Cardinals, at 1-1, have lost eight consecutive home games. The injury sheet stung Arizona further: cornerbacks Max Melton (toe) and Will Johnson (neck) both left the game. For the champions, the takeaway is simpler — the machine ran at full speed with the backup driving it.