Arizona actually led after the 1st quarter, 3-0. That was the whole Cardinals offense. They put up 0 in each of the last 3 quarters, so Tyler Allgeier never found the end zone in his first game as the No. 1 back, and neither did Trey McBride. The preview counted on that pair to carry a thin offense, and neither of them got a touchdown. Arizona's line was missing Jon Gaines and Jayden Williams, and the Seahawks never let the Cardinals build a drive that finished with points.
Seattle won it in the 2nd quarter. The Seahawks scored 14 in that quarter to go from 3 down to 11 up, then added a field goal in the 3rd and spent the 4th running out the clock. Lock didn't need to win the game himself, and with Cross and Nelson out, Seattle didn't ask him to. Arizona came in having given up 30 or more in 3 of its last 5. Holding Seattle to 17 was the best defensive game the Cardinals have played in a while, and it still lost by 2 touchdowns.
Those quarter-by-quarter numbers are the story of Minshew's first start. The Dallas comeback got him the job, but at Lumen Field he couldn't get anything going after the opening quarter. Without Kendrick Bourne and with Michael Wilson playing through broken ribs, he didn't have much to throw to outside. Seattle's thinned-out front held anyway, and Arizona never threatened a comeback after the half.
Seattle snaps a skid of 3 losses in 4 games and gets to 5-4. This looked a lot like the 20-3 win over Kansas City: a 1-score-per-quarter offense and a defense that didn't let the opponent score again after an early field goal. Arizona drops to 3-6. LaFleur now has to decide whether 1 good relief appearance and 1 bad start are enough to judge Minshew. The Cardinals' best result of the day was holding Seattle to 17, and that was nowhere near enough.
Both injury reports were long, so this was a battle of depth. Seattle's backups up front held up. Arizona's skill-position depth behind Allgeier, with Jeremiyah Love on IR and Bam Knight out, didn't find any answers. Next week Seattle should find out if Darnold is available. Arizona has to figure out how to score again with a quarterback who is 1 start into the job.
