Rapid reactions: Cardinals lose rematch with Seahawks

The Arizona Cardinals are officially reeling after a third straight loss and fell below .500 (6-7) with an ugly 30-18 home performance against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

Following an opening-drive touchdown to wide receiver Michael Wilson, two first-quarter interceptions from the arm of Kyler Murray dispelled any early momentum in a critical Week 14 divisional matchup.

An accompanying 44-42 upset win for the Los Angeles Rams (7-6) over the Buffalo Bills left the Cardinals in third place in the NFC West standings.

With the division lead slipping out of reach, the Cardinals will be forced to play near-perfect football down the stretch to keep postseason hopes alive.

Arizona Sports hosts and reporters gave their biggest takeaways from the Cardinals’ third home loss in 2024:

Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta Mornings: Two weeks ago during a 16-6 loss to the Seahawks in Seattle, Drew Petzing and the Cardinals’ offense, in my opinion, abandoned the running game too early.

Sunday in Glendale, the Arizona offense might have been inclined to abandon the passing game after its first drive of the game, which saw them take a 7-0 lead in a game they lost 30-18.
For the third straight week, Kyler Murray crippled any chance the Cardinals had to win with two mind-bendingly bad interceptions on back-to-back throws in the first quarter. Leading 7-3, Murray was picked by linebacker Ernest Jones on a play where apparently the QB didn’t see the defender.

One play later, Seattle pounced with Geno Smith throwing a 19-yard touchdown strike to Jaxson Smith-Njigba to give Seattle a lead they’d never give up.

Two offensive plays later, Murray stared at Marvin Harrison Jr. and Coby Bryant picked him off. Five plays later, Zach Charbonnet capped a scoring drive with a 1-yard run to make it 17-7.

Felt like the ball game. It was.

Let’s rewind…not only did the Cardinals’ bye week come at a bad time. It’s lasted four weeks. Sure, Arizona was competitive last week in Minnesota (a game the Cardinals should have won), but that heartbreak has been sandwiched by two absolutely dominant performances by the Seahawks. Both Cardinals lines got run over like a speedbump in a busy mall parking lot at Christmas time AGAIN.

The Cardinals are not a playoff team. They tried to get us to believe they were, and stacking wins against mediocre-to-bad teams over the first 10 weeks of the season had me believing. The truth is, they have one win against a team with a pulse this season.

They may win one of the next two against the bad-but-improving Patriots or Panthers over the next two weeks, but the reality is that this team overachieved before the bye week and is more likely to finish last in the NFC West than earn a playoff spot.

John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo: There was a whole lot NOT to like about this one.

For one Kyler Murray was awful with two huge interceptions that turned into 14 Seattle points. The run defense got gashed by backup running back Cach Charbonnet to the tune of 134 yards on 22 carries a very healthy 6.1-yard average per rush and the Seahawks as a team produced a whopping 176 on the ground. By the way Seattle failed to reach 100 yards rushing in any of their three previous games.

Now throw in the fact that for all intent and purposes Arizona’s playoff chances have gone by the wayside. Ya a lot not to like.

The Cardinals were fine losing to the Seahawks in Seattle. And the loss to Minnesota didn’t hurt them that bad. They were still in good shape and control of their own destiny just needed to win a must-win game at home versus Seattle today. But by laying an egg they are now 2 games behind the Seahawks with four to play and they don’t have the tiebreaker. Basically, the Cardinals can’t lose another game and need Seattle to lose 3. And that doesn’t even take into account the Rams who beat Buffalo today in a shootout.

The Murray conundrum continues. She loves me, she loves me not. About three times this season we were all totally enamored with his growth as a quarterback and ability to play like a top-10 QB in this league. But then there are games like this one – a total flop in which his play was a direct result of the loss. There have been a few of those this year. In the end you judge Murray on the body of work over a full season – not just the bad games and not just the good games. And this one after the two INT performance last week and throwing an INT in Seattle means 5 INTs in the past three games and the Cardinals are 0-3 when they are playing meaningful games down the stretch. It’s just not good enough. Has to be better.

Dave Burns, co-host of Burns & Gambo: Before the game I heard a wise person say that if you’re a playoff team you win this game. They didn’t and they’re not and that’s that. Oh sure, we can talk about winning out and getting help and playoff odds. But a division game in December at home needs to be won. If you can’t…you didn’t deserve it. As for the why? A multiple-choice question where the only correct answer is “all of the above.”

Kyler Murray threw two disastrous picks on back-to-back throws that both ended in touchdowns in the first half. Murray played decently enough last week but Sunday raises questions about his ability to be great when the need is at its greatest. Three years ago, a 9-2 Cards team faded in December and Kyler couldn’t rise above. Jonathan Gannon said after the game that they’re not playing meaningful games without him. True but….can he raise his play to match the moment? He looks more skittish and susceptible to pressure as of late which begs the question if it’s him or his line play in front of him.

Trey McBride didn’t catch a ball until there were five minutes left in the third quarter. The Cards defense gave them a chance in the second half but leaked yards like candy out of a broken pinata in the first half. Add it up and you’ll find a team that wasn’t ready for its post-bye-week close up.

When the game was over “Closing Time” from Semisonic was blaring over the stadium speakers. Maybe they play it every week, but the song was especially relevant to this Sunday. Gather up your jackets. Move it to the exits. You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.

Tyler Drake, Arizona Sports Cardinals beat writer and Cardinals Corner co-host: The Cardinals entered Sunday’s game against the Seahawks as the more desperate team with NFC West and playoff hopes hanging in the balance.

After four quarters, it was Seattle looking like the team that needed (and wanted) the win more.

This is a tough one to swallow for Arizona and its fans. That ahead-of-schedule feeling has gone out the window. And right behind it are the Cardinals’ playoff hopes.

The season is not over but it sure feels like it after this one.

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