Drew Lock and Jaxon Smith-Njigba connected for three touchdowns as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Arizona Cardinals 31-7 Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.
Lock, starting for injured quarterback Sam Darnold (glute), completed 19 of 26 passes for 235 yards. Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year, made nine receptions for 155 yards. Emanuel Wilson rushed for 92 yards on 21 carries for the Seahawks (2-0).
Jacoby Brissett was 17-of-28 passing for 95 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the Cardinals (1-1). Tight end Trey McBride made eight catches for 41 yards and a score.
Seattle’s Dark Side defense limited the Cardinals to 151 yards of total offense.
Lock hit Smith-Njigba from 7 and 12 yards on slant patterns in the back of the end zone in the second half as the Seahawks pulled away from a 7-all
tie at the intermission. The first came on Seattle’s opening drive of the third quarter and the latter with 12:40 remaining.
Tight end AJ Barner scored on a 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal with 1:11 left to close out the victory.
Jason Myers added a 33-yard field goal for the Seahawks, giving them a 17-7 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Seahawks scored on their second play from scrimmage, as Lock hit a wide-open Smith-Njigba on an 82-yard TD down the right sideline. It was the longest reception of Smith-Njigba’s four-year career.
The Cardinals tied it on the first play of the second quarter when Brissett found McBride in the end zone on fourth-and-goal from Seattle’s 2-yard line.
The Seahawks had a chance to take the lead in the final two minutes of the first half, but Wilson was stopped for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
Seattle scored on its opening possession of the second half, thanks to a fortunate bounce. Rashid Shaheed returned the kickoff 27 yards before he was hit and fumbling. Teammate Chazz Surratt recovered and went 35 more yards to Arizona’s 37. Following an Arizona penalty, Jadarian Price rushed around the right end for 25 yards.
On third-and-goal from the 7, Lock hit Smith-Njigba over the middle to make it 14-7.
