The Seahawks entered Sunday ranked seventh in points scored and 31st in points allowed, but it was their defense that carried them to a home win over the Cardinals.
Seattle did not allow their NFC West rivals to score an offensive touchdown during a 19-9 victory. The win lifts the Seahawks to 3-3 on the season, which leaves them even with the Rams and 49ers in the division.
They’ll head to Los Angeles to face the Chargers next weekend and they’d love to bring the defensive performance they got this week. They posted six sacks of Kyler Murray and forced a pair of turnovers in the second half of the game. Murray was stripped of the ball after a nine-yard run in the third quarter and rookie cornerback Tariq Woolen recovered the ball. Woolen then picked Murray off late in the fourth quarter to all but ice the game.
While the Seahawks defense was the dominant unit on Sunday, the offense did get a strong game from rookie running back Ken Walker. He ran 21 times for 97 yards and a touchdown in his first start. Geno Smith was 20-of-31 for 191 yards while avoiding turnovers for the third straight week.
The Seahawks defense also kept the Cardinals from converting three fourth downs inside their 30-yard-line over the course of the game. The first two stops came when it was still a one-score game and Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury will likely be asked about the decision to eschew field goals that would have brought them closer.
Kingsbury will also field questions about his 2-4 team’s general offensive issues. Getting wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins back from his suspension could help, but it’s a quick turnaround to hosting the Saints on Thursday and the team has a lot to sort out after such a dispiriting performance.