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Takeaways from Seahawks' defensively dominant Week 10 victory vs. Cardinals

The Seahawks moved to 7-2 with an impressive 44-22 win over the Cardinals at home.
Connor Benintendi|
Nov 9, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas (42) celebrates a defensive stop during the first quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Lumen Field.
Nov 9, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas (42) celebrates a defensive stop during the first quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Lumen Field. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

Even if it wasn’t pretty late in the game, the Seattle Seahawks secured a sweep of the Arizona Cardinals for the fourth straight season with a 44-22 thumping of their division rivals on Sunday, Nov. 9, at Lumen Field.

It was Seattle’s ninth straight victory over Arizona, and the sixth by at least 10 points during that span. The Seahawks moved to 7-2, tied for the best record in the NFC, while the Cardinals (3-6) lost the sixth game in their last seven.

Here’s what we learned from a dominant defensive performance by the Seahawks in Week 10.

Good teams blow out bad teams

This Seahawks team isn’t like those of recent history. Instead of every game being close — regardless of opponent — and having the result become a coin flip, Seattle is leaving nothing to chance against bad teams.

Seattle has now led by at least 30 points at halftime twice this season (32-point lead against the New Orleans Saints in Week 3) and earned four wins by at least 14 points. 

The question at the beginning of the season: How good is this team? Now, it’s about how far the Seahawks can go.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Sam Darnold are inevitable

There is yet to be a team that can stop the Darnold-to-Smith-Njigba connection this season. It’s time to stop doubting whether that duo can continue to be explosive every week. We now know it’s essentially an inevitability every week.

Darnold found Smith-Njigba for a 43-yard touchdown on the Seahawks’ opening drive, and he continued to churn out yards the remainder of the game. 

Smith-Njigba entered the game on a streak of four-straight performances with at least 100 yards receiving. He has six total games with that total so far this season, and has already crossed the 1,000-yard mark.

Darnold leads the league with 22 completions of 20 or more air yards. There is no quarterback-wide receiver duo league-wide that has been more lethal in 2025.

This is the best Seahawks defense in nearly a decade

The 2017 season is when the Legion of Boom began to fall apart, and by 2018, the Seahawks were merely an average defense. There were decent units in between, but never close to as dominant as Seattle was from 2012-16.

Seattle was top-5 in total yards allowed and points per game allowed each year during that era — leading the league in both categories in 2013 and 2014. 

The Seahawks are currently fifth in points per game allowed (18.8) and 10th in total defense (303.9). Though the total numbers aren’t top-5, Seattle has allowed the second-fewest rush yards per game (85.9).

This 2025 Seahawks defense under Mike Macdonald is looking as dominant as those LOB days, and it’s now fueling blowout victories for Seattle. Even more baffling: The unit is far from full strength.

No pair of moments was more representative of Seattle’s dominance than when backup linebacker Tyrice Knight and edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence combined on two strip-sack touchdowns in the first half alone.

Knight knocked the ball free from Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett both times, and the ball twice bounced right to Lawrence, who rumbled for a pair of scores. That helped fuel the Seahawks to a 38-7 halftime lead, essentially putting the game in hand after 30 minutes of football.

The Seahawks are playing without three defensive starters: cornerback Josh Jobe, linebacker Ernest Jones IV and safety Julian Love.

Seattle’s defense was given a difficult task via the offensive turnovers, and they stood tall. The Seahawks gave up 15 points off three turnovers, but those all gave Arizona extremely advantageous field position. They were lucky not to let the Cardinals get all the way back in the game.

About those turnovers

Seattle’s offense is, at its best, arguably the best unit in the league. We’ve seen them fire on all cylinders at various points throughout various games. In that state, and in conjunction with the defense, it makes them look like the best team in the league.

But the turnovers, miscues and long quiet stretches are also holding the offense back. The Seahawks have now had five games this season with two or more turnovers, led by four giveaways in Week 7.

The Seahawks had three turnovers against the Cardinals. Darnold had 11 passing yards in the second half. The game script had them focus on running the ball in the second half, and Darnold was involved in all three giveaways (two fumbles, one interception).

It became clear that Macdonald and Klint Kubiak simply wanted to bleed the clock and leave nothing to chance after the turnovers stacked up. That was the right decision.

The ball security has to improve, and the offense has to become consistently excellent if the Seahawks want to compete for a Super Bowl. 

Up Next

The Seahawks now head into their most important game of the season to this point, as they host the Los Angeles Rams (7-2) at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16.

That game will at least temporarily be for sole possession of first place in the NFC West.

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Connor Benintendi
CONNOR BENINTENDI

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