Cardinals' Week 2 Disaster: 4 Brutal Takeaways From Embarrassing Seahawks Loss

The Arizona Cardinals took an ugly loss — here's four instant takeaways after losing to the Seattle Seahawks.

Sep 20, 2026; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) throws in the second half against the Seattle Seahawks at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Arizona Cardinals stunned many in the football world after defeating the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1 of the NFL season.

That success didn't last long, as the Cardinals fell to 1-1 after a thrashing courtesy of the Seattle Seahawks by a 31-7 score on Sunday.

4 instant takeaways:

Shaky Secondary

Defensive coordinator Nick Rallis' unit had a very tough day at the office, as they made Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock look like Hall of Famer Drew Brees. Lock had an efficient day going 19 of 26 for 235 yards and three touchdowns against Arizona's defense.

With Seahawks starter Sam Darnold being ruled out for this game due to injury, there was some hope the Cardinals' secondary could intercept or at least disrupt some of Lock’s passes. However, that was not the case. The former University of Missouri quarterback looked unfazed and helped Seattle get a dominant win over the Cardinals.

Sep 20, 2026; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock (2) throws in the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The previously solid secondary performance from the Cardinals last week will quickly become a distant memory if this unit continues to look poor and underperform. Looking ahead to Week 3, Arizona has a tough test in the San Francisco 49ers and quarterback Brock Purdy.

Purdy has diced up Arizona in prior matchups, throwing a total of 12 touchdowns to only two interceptions in games against the Cardinals.

Nov 16, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws the ball while Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Walter Nolen III (97) defends in the first half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Week 1 was a Mirage

After the Cardinals were victorious over the Chargers in Week 1, there was plenty of hype surrounding Arizona’s football team. However, all of that excitement and good will built was deflated in over the course of today. Not only did Seattle win — they flat out dominated on the scoreboard and in pretty much every metric.

Sep 20, 2026; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald shakes hands with Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur after the game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Seattle out-gained and out-paced Arizona in first downs, time of possession, third-down efficiency — pretty much every positive metric went Seattle's way.

Now yes, the Seahawks are the defending Super Bowl Champions. However, Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams last year, who were more than competive against the Seahawks.

The Cardinals' flat peformance was very disappointing on that front as well.

Same Old Cardinals?

On the topic of coaching staffs, the most disappointing factor was how similar this game has felt to prior beatdowns from the Seahawks in their current ten-game losing skid to Seattle.

Today's matchup carried a lot of the same tendencies as typical matchups. Whether it be Seattle's defense dominating, their offense gaining yards at will or the Cardinals' defense playing bad; today and past games had a similar vibe.

Sure, the Seahawks are better than the Cardinals in a lot of areas, but for Arizona to perform that bad with a mostly new coaching staff is extremely disappointing. 

One Positive? They're Creating Turnovers

Ending on a positive note, the Cardinals have now recovered fumbles in back to back games. Last week, Chargers running back Omarion Hampton coughed up the ball. Today, it was Seahawks runner Jadarian Price with Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins recovering the football.

Aug 22, 2026; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins (25) warms up prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It is very nice and encouraging to see this being a trend for Arizona's defense and hopefully it can continue.

Overall, this was a very ugly game for the Cardinals.