The Arizona Cardinals turned in one of the worst performances Arizona fans have seen in recent memory on Sunday. The Seattle Seahawks didn’t hold back, and they made the Cardinals look completely overmatched.
Both teams were dealing with notable injuries coming into the game, but no single player could have altered Sunday’s outcome.
The Cardinals fell behind by 35 points in under 20 minutes, making it difficult to fairly assess the game beyond its disastrous start. Still, here are three areas where things specifically went wrong.
Seattle Pass Rush Was Unstoppable
Seahawks coach Mike McDonald had a field day drawing up different pressure schemes to affect Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
It’s hard to tell how much was on Brissett, the offensive line in general, or the protection packages, but the Cardinals quarterback didn’t stand a chance.
Seattle entered Sunday as a top-five defense in the NFL and a top-10 sack defense in the league, according to PFSN’s Defense Impact rankings, and that was evident against the Cardinals.
On two of Arizona’s first three possessions of the game, Brissett was sacked. Both times, the Cardinals quarterback had his arm hit and lost the ball, which was returned for a touchdown.
The Cardinals had three players blocking Seattle defensive end Leonard Williams while Seattle linebacker Tyrice Knight executed a delayed blitz and got to Jacoby Brissett untouched. pic.twitter.com/MFmEI7RL4D
— Josh Weinfuss (@joshweinfuss) November 9, 2025
After that, Arizona was already down 28 points, and the defense began to play softer coverage, taking away any chunk plays. However, Brissett was still sacked five times in the game.
Cardinals’ Run Defense Was Putrid
This is an area that should have gone in the Cardinals’ favor ahead of Sunday’s matchup.
Arizona came into the game ranked No. 8 in the NFL in rushing yards allowed, according to PFSN’s Defense Impact metric. On the other side, Seattle came into the game ranked No. 28 in the NFL in rushing yards, according to PFSN’s Offense Impact metric.
However, the Seahawks ran wild on Sunday afternoon. Seattle ran for nearly 200 yards and averaged more than four yards per carry.
Running backs Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker each had 14 carries. Charbonnet led the team with 83 rushing yards, averaging 5.9 yards per carry, and Walker was just behind him with 67 yards on 4.8 yards per carry.
It’s hard to be too critical of the defense’s inability to stop the run because the Cardinals were in a 35-point hole less than 20 minutes into the game. However, the Seahawks have struggled to run the ball all year long.
On Sunday, Seattle had three different running backs average more than four yards per carry.
Injuries, Injuries, Injuries
There should be more information on all the injuries later on Sunday and into the new week. However, the Cardinals came into the game banged up, and it only got worse.
Arizona entered Sunday’s game with linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. and cornerbacks Will Johnson and Max Melton out with injuries. That meant rookie linebacker Cody Simon was wearing the green dot on defense, and rookie cornerback Denzel Burke was starting.
Then, the Cardinals had eight players go down throughout the game. Cornerback Garrett Williams had to leave to be checked for a concussion. Safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson left the game with an ankle injury and did not return. Receiver Zay Jones left the game injured, and fellow receiver Semi Fehoko, who entered because of Jones’ injury, left the game injured as well.
Offensive lineman Jonah Williams went out injured and was replaced by Kelvin Beachum, and running back Bam Knight left the game late with an ankle injury. Lastly, defensive linemen Darius Robinson and Walter Nolen III both left the game hurt. Robinson left with a groin injury, and Nolen with a knee injury.
As if the performance on the field wasn’t bad enough, all the injuries made it a really rough week for Arizona.
The Cardinals have a week to regroup before their brutal stretch continues with the San Francisco 49ers next week.