Takeaways from Seattle Seahawks 16-6 win over Cardinals

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 24: Kyler Murray #1 of the Arizona Cardinals looks to pass as Devon Witherspoon #21 of the Seattle Seahawks defends during the second quarter at Lumen Field on November 24, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

SEATTLE - Boy how quickly things can change in the NFL.

The Seattle Seahawks appeared to be firmly on life support heading into last week's game against the San Francisco 49ers. Having lost five times in six games and with a matchup against the defending NFC champions on the road, Seattle's season hopes were firmly on the ropes and the outlook was bleak.

And in just two short weeks, the Seahawks find themselves in first place in the NFC West after a dominant defensive performance against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Seattle snapped a four-game home losing streak with a 16-6 victory that was as strong a showing as the team has had all season.

Like the win over the 49ers, Geno Smith bounced back from a bad interception to make several key plays to help Seattle seal away the victory. Leonard Williams had a dominant performance defensively with 2.5 sacks and three tackles for loss.

With the Seahawks also held the Miami Dolphins without a touchdown earlier this season in a 24-3 victory, the win over the Cardinals was more significant. Miami didn't have starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for that contest, but Arizona had their full offensive complement available on Sunday. And yet, it didn't matter as Seattle held the Cardinals to just six total points with only 49 rushing yards allowed. Arizona entered the week with the fifth-best rushing offense in the NFL.

"That's really rewarding," Williams said, pumping his fist when informed of the stats. "It showed up back-to-back weeks. Doing good against the run game, you know, that's a credit to everybody on the defense,. The front getting knocked back on their blocks and the linebackers coming downhill. And, you know, it keeps showing up, and I think we just got to keep growing off of it."

To put together such a performance in a week where they had to adapt to a team headquarters lacking power until Friday morning – much like many of those around the Puget Sound area – was an added bonus.

"It was tough, honestly," receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba said. "But our guys (are) mentally strong (and) got through it. I felt like we were professionals and we came out here and did what we had to do."

The Seahawks aren't a perfect football team. No 6-5 team is. But with the calendar nearly to December, the Seahawks are atop the NFC West with everything still to play for over the final six weeks of the season.

Here are the takeaways from the win over the Cardinals:

– Seahawks defense has made massive step forward.

If Seattle's defense continues to play like this, there is no reason why the Seahawks can't win the NFC West for the first time since 2020.

"Three games in a row now we played pretty decent on defense," head coach Mike Macdonald said. "There is an expectation and standard here throughout the course of our Seahawks history that we're trying to live up to and build on. So that's the idea."

Ahead of their game with the Los Angeles Rams just before the bye, Seattle's defense had slipped to 22nd in the league overall, and 29th against the run specifically at over 148 yards per game. In the three games that have followed, the Rams, 49ers and Cardinals have combined for just 82.6 yards per game on the ground, with the Rams held to 68 yards, and the Cardinals to just 49.

"We knew coming into this game, after watching the film, that we could beat this team, that we can play with any team in this league," Jones said. :We just got to come out and play our style of ball. And then once you finally get a win at home, after a couple of weeks of not having one, it feels good."

Seattle held Cardinals running back James Conner to just eight yards on seven carries. Quarterback Kyler Murray was unable to add to the rushing totals with his scrambling ability either, managing just nine yards on two attempts.

The only player to do any damage against the Seahawks was tight end Trey McBride, who had 12 catches for 133 yards.

"When you got a defense that plays the way they play when they're shutting down offenses the way they are at a high rate week after week, it's going to give you a shot to win every single game," Smith said.

Collectively, the defense is allowing just 16.3 points per game over their last three contests against the Rams (26), 49ers (17), and Cardinals (6).

"I feel that collectiveness and the cohesion growing more and more on this defense," Williams said. "You can tell when you look each other in the eyes that its, ‘Ok, we got this.’ There were times in the beginning of the season when I didn’t feel that same thing when I would look a teammate in his eyes. There were times when we were in a game and we’re kind of down and I would look someone in the eyes and they didn’t have that same fight in them, and I feel like now we’re on that track and it means more."

– Devon Witherspoon makes an exceptional play, leads to Coby Bryant's pick-six.

Among the best football players in the world, there's a class of player that reaches beyond most of their peers. Seeing them play in-person can show just how special these types of players can be, and showcases that extra level they can achieve.

Devon Witherspoon made just such a play against Arizona, and it led to a key Seahawks defensive touchdown.

With Seattle reeling from a potential lost fourth down stop opportunity due to a timeout taken just before the snap, Witherspoon made the play of the game for the Seahawks. The Cardinals attempted to run a bootleg action for Kyler Murray to get to the edge on his own. And it would have completely worked if not for Witherspoon, who saw Murray's bootleg action, spun to change direction and cut off Murray from getting the angle to the first down.

Murray's panicked throw sailed high of Michael Wilson into the waiting arms of Coby Bryant, who returned the interception 69 yards to stretch Seattle's lead to 13-3.

"That's Devon Witherspoon 101," Macdonald said. "Just effort, energy, competitiveness, football understanding, all of the above. So he definitely made that play come to life.

The number of players that can make that type of play is very small. Think of plays such as Marshawn Lynch's "Beast Quake," or Doug Baldwin's one-handed catch in Minnesota, or Kam Chancellor's hit on Wes Welker in the Super Bowl win over Denver when he flipped directions to breakup a throw the opposite direction at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds.

Colin Kaepernick's one-legged dart to Anquan Boldin in the 2013 NFC Championship game against Seattle, and Adrian Peterson's 74-yard run through the Seahawks defense in 2012 are examples of these plays against the Seahawks, too.

Bryant's touchdown will be the focus of the highlight as he scored what turned out to be the decisive score in the game. But that doesn't happen without Witherspoon's play. It's exactly what you hope to get from a top-five draft pick.

– The Leonard Williams game.

Leonard Williams terrorized the Arizona Cardinals offensive line on Sunday.

Williams lined up all over Seattle's defensive front and wrecked several plays for the Arizona offense. He had sacks both rushing from the interior and from a wide-9 setup outside the end. Former Seattle offensive lineman and Cardinals guard Evan Brown was completely overmatched by Williams' strength and ferociousness.

"I thought he was dominant. I knew he played great and then I looked at the stat line and he played out of his mind," Macdonald said.

It was easily the best game by a Seattle defensive lineman this season, clearly Williams' best in his time with the Seahawks, and a key piece of the team's defensive performance.

"I think that definitely was my most dominant game since being a part of the Seahawks," Williams said. "It was interesting because I woke up this morning with a great feeling and pretty much everyone I approached before the game, I told them I’ve got a good feeling about this game. It wasn’t directed toward my personal success, it was directed toward the team’s success. I just had a great feeling about it. I just had great energy out there today and it showed."

Leo was right. He finished the game with four total quarterback hits and six tackles overall, but his impact outpaced those numbers.

"I just think he just do what he do. His energy out there, the stuff he brings to the table. He’s Big Cat. He’s Leo. I don’t think there’s a word to describe it, I just know we appreciate him," Witherspoon said.

– Geno Smith unforced error nearly bites Seahawks.

Just like in last week's victory over the 49ers, Geno Smith forced a play when he didn't need to that led to a costly Seahawks turnover in the second half.

And just like last week's game, Smith bounced back with a few critical moments to help Seattle get the win over Arizona.

"Obviously made a terrible mistake down there; something I got to clean up," Smith said.

Last week it was a throw backed up in their own end early in the third quarter that was intercepted by Isaac Yiadom that led to an easy three points for San Francisco. But Smith answered by immediately leading a touchdown drive in response, and then adding a game-winning scoring drive in the closing seconds.

Sunday's error came with the Seahawks leading and driving into Arizona's territory trying to expand the lead. Smith tried to squeeze a throw late in a play to Tyler Lockett in the end zone only to have cornerback Garrett Williams undercut the throw for an interception and touchback that turned Seattle away,

"Offensively, I thought we did some good things, but we need to clean some things up operationally. I thought some penalties drew us back. Just talking to Geno, continue to make better decisions it the red zone, take care of the ball. We were improving and making strides in that area as well, so be a good game to build off," Macdonald said.

The rebound against the Cardinals wasn't as flashy. However, Smith led the Seahawks on a vital eight-minute scoring drive that drained most of the final 10 minutes of the game. The drive included three big third down conversions, the most vital being an 18-yard strike to DK Metcalf in a tight window while on the move.

A 7-yard completion to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on third-and-6, and a check to run to Zach Charbonnet that picked up six yards on third-and-4 also kept the drive moving. Jason Myers converted a 50-yard field goal with 1:56 left to play to make it a two-score game for the Seahawks and put the game out of reach.

"That was a good drive. We had some big plays. When you can control the clock like that, that's major," tight end Pharoah Brown said.

Smith knows these types of plays can't keep happening. But he's still not getting much support from the team's rushing attack to balance out the offense either. Ken Walker III and Charbonnet combined for just 63 yards on 22 carries in Seattle's backfield.

But even with the miscues, Smith keeps showing he's got a knack for delivering in