The Good, Bad and Ugly From Cardinals Loss to Seahawks

The Arizona Cardinals quickly must figure some things out.

Nov 9, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) walks off the field after the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals are back in the desert following their 44-22 thrashing from the Seattle Seahawks, which very well could qualify as the worst loss of the Jonathan Gannon era.

Arizona quickly found themselves down 35-0 and never could quite recover despite responding well in the third quarter. Now at 3-6 on the season, the Cardinals have some massive questions to answer moving forward.

Evaluating the good, bad and ugly from Sunday:

The Good: Trey McBride Continues to Dominate

Nov 9, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) rushes as Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori (3) defends during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

In a Cardinals offense that has been anything but consistent this season, Trey McBride has been a glaring bright spot as he continues to dominate week after week.

Against Seattle, McBride had nine receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown.

He's clearly the best player in Arizona's offense at this moment in time and it's not close. Regardless of what's transpired on the field, opposing defenses haven't found a way to stop him.

"It's no surprise. He's, if not the best tight end in the league, and it shows every week," Cardinals starting QB Jacoby Brissett said after the game.

"The amount of respect that they gave him on the other side, they tried doubling him as well and putting their corners on him and giving him a whole bunch of different looks. You know, he made the most of a lot of his opportunities."

McBride was the lone bright spot for Arizona on Sunday.

READ: Are Changes Coming to Cardinals?

The Bad: Offensive Line Play

Nov 9, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) fumbles the ball as Seattle Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48) defends during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Brissett was sacked five times yesterday. The Cardinals, outside of Emari Demercado's 55-yard rush, generated little to praise on the ground.

Seattle generated 23 pressures, the ninth-most of any team this season in a game according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

Nothing seemed to get going for Arizona's offense, who saw two fumbles returned for a touchdown, consistent faces in Brissett's face and rushing lanes clogged with defenders in what felt like immediately after the snap.

As much as football changes, some things stay the same: Games are won in the trenches, and for what felt like the first time in a long time, the Cardinals were truly manhandled in that aspect.

READ: Jonathan Gannon Only Blaming Himself After Ugly Loss

The Ugly: Practically Everything Else

Nov 9, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon looks on during the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

This section could be a country mile long, so we'll try to keep this short and sweet.

In my years of covering the Cardinals on this beat, that may have been one of (if not the) worst loss I've seen.

From what felt like the first drive of the game, Arizona felt unmatched and unprepared for what was to come.

Yes, the Seahawks are arguably the hottest team in football. Playing in Seattle is no tough task, either.

Yet this was supposed to be an improved Cardinals team that barely lost to Seattle weeks ago on Thursday Night Football, and that simply wasn't the case.

The offensive game plan was a disaster, and Seattle's three turnovers gifted the Cardinals life in the second half in what was otherwise an eye-opening game for wrong reasons.

Defensively - even taking away the 14 points gifted off fumbles - the Cardinals allowed 30 points.

Sam Darnold completed 10 of his 12 passes while Seattle rushed for nearly 200 yards on the day. Seattle was 6-10 on third down and averaged 6.3 yards per play.

From top to bottom, truly, Sunday's performance wasn't acceptable.