Cardinals Got Massive Serving of Humble Pie Thanks to Seahawks

GLENDALE — The Arizona Cardinals weren't just served a slice of humble pie — they were served the whole damn thing.

The Cardinals drop to 1-1 after their emphatic 31-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2. Arizona has now lost its last ten games against Seattle.

There was hope new head coach Mike LaFleur would turn that tide in 2026 — and it looked as if that was the case with a 7-7 halftime draw before Seattle ran away with a mostly pro-Seahawk crowd at State Farm Stadium.

"Weird one, tough one," Mike LaFleur said at the podium afterwards.

"Obviously, the process [of the] second half was so different than the first half. It's self-induced. We had 12 plays basically until the last two runs there. I can't remember a time that was [the case] so credit to them."

After the Cardinals scored a touchdown on their third drive of the game to tie Seattle at 7-7 in the second quarter, four of their final six drives (not counting end of the game) ended in three plays. The other two were six-play possessions that resulted in a punt.

Such is life when you're facing the defending Super Bowl champions. Much was made throughout the week of their historically solid defense, but even the new and temporarily improved Cardinals offense couldn't string together more than flashes in a pan.

"It's not like there's a wholesale change needed by any means," LaFleur added. "We're not hitting any panic button. But, when you play the best defense in ball, you got to do all the little things right, and we did not today."

The good news? It's only two weeks of football. It's a long season and the Cardinals have plenty capability to bounce back from a loss like this.

However, today also served as a reminder from the Seahawks: Arizona still has a long ways to go before dreaming about the postseason. Calling the team's win in Los Angeles last week "fool's gold" would be a stretch, though if fans ever needed a reminder of what a legitimate Super Bowl contender looked like, Seattle delivered just that.

"Yeah, it's a good one. That's the gold standard right now, and it doesn't get any easier next week," LaFleur said before looking ahead to Week 3's road test against the San Francisco 49ers.

"This team that we're about to play next week is going to be dang good, and they're rolling right now, and they're healthy. You guys see when they're healthy how good that team can be.

"What cannot happen is we can't let Seattle beat us twice. Not necessarily the second time we play them. I don't care. I don't even know when we play them again. But we can't let this go into next week, and I don't think we will. I love the guys in that locker room. We have great leadership."

Comparing the Cardinals (under a first-year head coach) to a team that just recently hoisted a Lombardi isn't fair. On the other side of the coin, reality is this is a wins and losses league. If LaFleur's going to succeed in this division, usurping Seattle isn't optional. It's mandatory.

Arizona was fresh off a win and facing a divisional opponent early in the year. Seattle was set to roll out their backup quarterback, which perfectly set the Cardinals up to deliver a message in Week 2.

That failed.

The panic button isn't anywhere in sight — nor should it be. Good teams don't panic, and despite what Cardinals fans might believe at this moment in time, Arizona has potential to be just that.

Yet there was a line drawn between good and great today at State Farm Stadium, and it couldn't be clearer.

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