Kyler Murray produced more than 300 yards of offense, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Arizona Cardinals (2-4) lost to the Seattle Seahawks 19-9 on Sunday.
Murray had 10 carries for 100 yards, including a 42-yard run that helped set up the Cardinals first-quarter touchdown.
Murray was 23-for-37 for 222 yards with an interception and a fumble.
For the first time all season, Arizona scored in the first quarter. That kicked off a flurry of field goals.
Seattle took a 12-3 lead with four field goals. It wasn’t until the third quarter that either team scored a touchdown.
When it came, it was the Arizona defense forcing a fumble on a punt by Seattle from its own end zone. The recovery by Chris Banjo gave him his first touchdown since high school and keep the Cardinals in the game 12-9.
From there it was all Seattle.
Geno Smith was 20-for-31 passing for 197 yards. Kenneth Walker had 21 carries for 97 yards and his first NFL touchdown.
Watch: Key plays from the Arizona Cardinals loss to the Seattle Seahawks
Final effort
The Arizona Cardinals converted on fourth down to keep themselves in the game late in the fourth quarter.
Kyler Murray found tight end Zach Ertz across the middle for 6 yards when needing 3.
Eno Benjamin, one of just two running backs on active for the Cardinals on Sunday, carried for another first down. Murray scrambled for 15 yards and brought the ball out to the Cardinals 45.
Three plays later, the Cardinals faced another fourth down.
Needing 11 yards for the first down, Murray threw to the sideline where the pass was intercepted by Tariq Woolen. Cardinals wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown was injured on the play.
Woolen accounts for all four of the interceptions that Seattle has this season.
Making moves
In his first NFL start, Kenneth Walker carried the ball 11 yards for a touchdown that gave the Seattle Seahawks a 19-9 lead over the Arizona Cardinals.
The 75-yard, seven-play drive resulted in the first offensive touchdown of the game. The Seahawks had been unable to break through the Arizona red zone defense and previously settled for four field goals.
In an attempt to cut into the lead, Arizona opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the Seattle 23. Decision didn’t pay off as Kyler Murray was sacked for a 12-yard loss.
Seattle went three-and-out on its next possession to give Murray another shot with the offense.
The Cardinals did no better. Murray was sacked for a 9-yard loss on first down before throwing a pair of incompletions. Arizona punted and Seattle’s took the field at the Cardinals 48 with a 19-9 lead.
End of third
While the offenses haven’t found the end zone, but the Arizona defense did.
Seattle was attempting a punt on fourth-and-19 from its own end zone. Ezekiel Turner forced the fumble and Chris Banjo recovered in the end zone for the touchdown.
Arizona trails 12-9 after a missing point after. Prior to the fumble recovery, neither team had scored a touchdown, while combining for five field goals.
Chris Banjo recovers the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
Banjo has never scored a TD in college of the NFL.
His last TD was his sophomore year at Fort Bend Kempner HS (Sugar Land, TX) on 9/3/05. It was an INT return vs Alief Taylor High.
— Mark Dalton (@CardsMarkD) October 16, 2022
Murray drops the ball
A promising Arizona Cardinals possession was cut short when quarterback Kyler Murray fumbled during a scramble.
It was third-and-6. Murray scrambled for the first down, but Coby Bryant jarred the ball loose on a tackle attempt. Seattle promptly recovered on its own 19.
Arizona trails 12-3 in a kicking battle. The Cardinals kicked their field goal to begin the game, but the Seahawks have since kicked four of their own.
The fumble was the first of the season for the Cardinals.
At the half
The Seattle Seahawks hold a lead over the Arizona Cardinals at the half.
Arizona had possession of the ball with one time out and 1:17 remaining. However, the Cardinals weren’t able to do anything with the time. Seattle used its final timeout to stop the clock during the series, sacked Kyler Murray and forced a fumble. The result was a punt by the Cardinals after taking just 22 seconds off the clock.
That left plenty of time for the Seahawks to add to their lead. Inside the Arizona 15 with 15 seconds in the half, Geno Smith targeted D.K. Metcalf the end zone twice. In the end, Seattle settled for its third field goal of the game and a 9-3 lead.
The Seahawks will receive the kick to begin the second half.
Missing offenses
Andy Lee punted for the first time on Sunday after the Cardinals couldn’t do anything on their first possession.
Eno Benjamin picked up 3-yards in first down, but the following two plays resulted in losses.
It was a drastic change from what the Cardinals had been able to do previously against Seattle. Arizona amasses six first downs on the first two possessions.
Seattle took possession on its own 40 with 10:57 remaining in the first half and the score tied at 3.
Just 10 plays and 4:44 later, the score was 6-3 Seahawks after a 27-yard field goal from Jason Myers.
Lee made another appearance on the field for Arizona after another negative series led to a punt.
On second down, a missed block by RG Hernandez caused murray to flee pocket early. On third down, Cardinals failed to pick up the blitz. Variety of protection issues.
— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) October 16, 2022
Fourth down
The Cardinals lead the NFL with successful fourth-down conversions, but they came up empty on their attempt early in the second quarter.
Facing a fourth-and-4 at the Seattle 20, the Cardinals went for it. Kyler Murray targeted Rondale Moore on the play, but his throw was short. The driving Moore couldn’t get his hands under the ball, and the play resulted in a turnover on downs to end the 14-play, 55-yard drive.
First quarter
The Arizona offense is showing that it means business in the first quarter. The Cardinals, who hadn’t scored during the first quarter of any game through the first five weeks of the season, got on the board early.
On the drive, Kyler Murray broke free for a run of 42 yards. Later, he found Rondale Moore for a 26-yard completion that moved the Cardinals inside the Seattle 10. The Cardinals reached the 1-yard line before a negative play backed them up.
The Cardinals settled for a 23-yard field goal from Matt Ammendola, but it was enough to break the first-quarter slump and put the Cardinals up 3-0.
The lead didn’t last long as Seattle responded with a field goal of its own on the ensuring possession.
Kicking off
The Arizona Cardinals will get the ball to start the game. The Cardinals will try to shake off their first-quarter woes. Arizona is the only NFL team that hasn’t scored during the first quarter of any game this season.
Inactives
How to watch Cardinals vs. Seahawks NFL Week 6 game:
The game can be seen at 1:05 p.m. MST time on Fox.
Chris Myers or Noah Eagle will be on play-by-play for the game, Robert Smith will be the analyst and Jennifer Hale will be the reporter.
Why the two different possible play-by-play announcers?
The play-by-play announcers for the San Francisco 49ers vs. Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers and Cardinals vs. Seahawks games depend on if Joe Davis and Adam Amin have conflicts with calling the NLDS MLB Playoffs.
Myers could end up calling the Cardinals vs. Seahawks game or he might end up subbing for Amin in the 49ers vs. Falcons game.
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Cardinals-Seahawks odds
The Cardinals are a 2.5-point favorite, according to Tipico Sportsbook.
The Cardinals are -140 on the moneyline in the game, which will be played at Lumen Field in Seattle.
The Seahawks are +117.
The over/under for the game is set at 50.5 points.
Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks NFL Week 6 game preview
The Cardinals must take advantage of the Seahawks’ weak defense to win in their NFL Week 6 game. The Republic’s sports staff previews the game.
Diana Payan, Arizona Republic
Reach the reporter at emily.horos@azcentral.com or 602-444-2426. Follow her on Twitter @ejhoros.
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