The upcoming Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals match kicks off Sunday at 1:25 PM PT at Lumen Field in Seattle, with FOX carrying the broadcast. It is a Week 9 NFC West rematch between a defending champion that has slipped to 4-4 and a Cardinals team sitting at 3-5 but arriving with fresh momentum. Both teams will start different quarterbacks than the ones who opened the season, and that single fact has rewritten almost every number on the stat sheet. Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals Match Player Stats
This guide pulls together the latest updates, the player numbers that matter most, a full head-to-head comparison and the matchups most likely to decide the result. Every figure below reflects the newest information available before kickoff, so you get a current picture instead of recycled rivalry trivia.
Upcoming Match Details: Kickoff, Venue and Betting Lines
Here is everything you need to know about the game itself.
- Fixture: Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks, NFL Week 9
- Venue: Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington
- Kickoff: 1:25 PM PT (4:25 PM ET) on FOX
- Records: Seahawks 4-4 (second in the NFC West), Cardinals 3-5
- Spread: Seattle favored by roughly 8.5 points, down from an opening number near 11.5
- Total: around 39.5 points, a drop of about four points since the opening line
- ESPN Analytics win probability: Seahawks about 66.5%, Cardinals about 33.2%
The shrinking spread and total tell their own story. Oddsmakers adjusted once it became clear that Drew Lock would replace Sam Darnold for Seattle and Gardner Minshew would replace Jacoby Brissett for Arizona. A lower total points to a game expected to be low scoring, which is exactly how the Seahawks have preferred to win under head coach Mike Macdonald.
Latest Updates Before Kickoff Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals Match Player Stats
Two quarterback decisions dominate the news cycle, and both arrived within days of each other.
Seahawks Injury News and Quarterback Change
Seattle ruled out Sam Darnold after he suffered a quad injury late in a 34-17 home loss to the Bears, with a rib issue reported as well. Macdonald called him week-to-week and said the team does not plan to place him on injured reserve. Drew Lock gets the start despite managing a right elbow issue that kept him limited in practice, and Jalen Milroe sits behind him.
The injury list around Lock is long. Seattle ruled out left tackle Charles Cross, newly acquired guard Quenton Nelson, receiver Rashid Shaheed, defensive tackle Leonard Williams, defensive tackle Brandon Pili and linebacker Uchenna Nwosu. Linebacker Connor O’Toole carried a questionable tag. Two missing offensive line starters and a missing deep threat make protection and field-stretching the biggest concerns for Lock.
Cardinals Quarterback Switch and Roster Moves
Arizona benched Jacoby Brissett during a comeback overtime win in Dallas and then traded him to the Baltimore Ravens. Gardner Minshew II, who came off the bench to complete 17 of 23 passes for 188 yards and three touchdowns in that game, earns his first start of the season. Carson Beck, a rookie, is the backup.
On the injury front, Arizona’s report included offensive tackle Jayden Williams, guard Isaiah Adams and cornerback Max Melton. Statuses can change before kickoff, so check the official inactive list about 90 minutes before the game.
Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals Match Player Stats: Quarterback Comparison
The quarterback matchup looks very different from the one most fans expected at the start of the year. Both signal-callers are backups by title, yet both have produced meaningful numbers.
Drew Lock: Efficient and Turnover-Free
Lock has appeared in two games for Seattle this season and the results are striking. He has thrown for 422 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions, completing 72.9% of his passes for a passer rating of 127.3. In the Week 2 meeting with these same Cardinals, he threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-7 win.
Compare that to Darnold’s season line of 1,478 yards, 10 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 79.5 rating on 60.2% accuracy. The sample size for Lock is small, and Seattle’s coaches have kept the game plan conservative to protect him. Still, the gap in efficiency is the reason many analysts view him as the better option for this specific game.
Gardner Minshew: A Fresh Start With a Short Résumé
Minshew’s evidence is a single relief appearance, but it was a loud one. He led four straight touchdown drives against the Cowboys and set up the overtime field goal that sealed the win. Before the switch, Brissett had completed 63.3% of his passes for 1,719 yards at just 5.6 yards per attempt, and in the Week 2 loss to Seattle he managed only 95 passing yards on 28 attempts.
Minshew brings quicker decision-making and some scrambling ability, which matters against a Seattle pass rush that has been disruptive all year. Some betting analysts even highlighted his rushing yardage total as a prop to watch.
| Quarterback | Team | Key 2026 Numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Drew Lock | Seahawks | 422 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT, 72.9% completions, 127.3 rating |
| Sam Darnold (out) | Seahawks | 1,478 yards, 10 TD, 9 INT, 60.2% completions, 79.5 rating |
| Gardner Minshew II | Cardinals | 17/23, 188 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT in relief vs Dallas |
| Jacoby Brissett (traded) | Cardinals | 1,719 yards, 10 TD, 7 INT, 5.6 yards per attempt |
Offensive Player Stats to Watch
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: The Most Dangerous Player in the Matchup
No player in this game owns the numbers that Jaxon Smith-Njigba does. Through eight games he has 64 catches for 985 yards and nine touchdowns, and he has cleared 100 receiving yards in seven of those eight contests. Over his last four games he has averaged about 126 yards per game.
His history against Arizona is just as lopsided. In seven career meetings with the Cardinals he has 36 catches on 46 targets for 536 yards and seven touchdowns. In the Week 2 matchup he posted nine catches for 155 yards and all three of Lock’s touchdown passes.
Several milestones sit within reach on Sunday:
- Fifteen yards gives him a third straight 1,000-yard season, joining Tyler Lockett and Steve Largent in franchise history.
- One more 100-yard game would make it eight in the first nine games of a season, a mark only Adam Thielen and Michael Irvin have reached.
- One hundred and twenty yards would pass Tyreek Hill for the most receiving yards through nine games in the Super Bowl era.
His receiving yards prop sits near 94.5, which shows how strongly the market believes in him.
Trey McBride: Arizona’s Reliable Safety Valve
Arizona’s most dependable weapon is tight end Trey McBride. He caught 126 passes for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns last season and has continued to be the focal point of the passing game. In two games against Seattle last year he caught 16 of 24 targets for 179 yards and a touchdown, and this season he reached a high of 111 yards and a score against Denver.
Wide receiver Michael Wilson is the other name to track. He put up eight catches, 111 yards and a touchdown in the comeback win over Dallas, and he is the most productive wideout on the roster. Expect Seattle to rotate coverage toward McBride on third down, since Minshew will likely lean on him whenever pressure arrives.
Running Game Numbers
Neither ground attack is dominant. Seattle averages 109.6 rushing yards per game, which ranks 19th in the NFL, and Emanuel Wilson led the team with 92 rushing yards in the Week 2 meeting. Arizona’s backfield is a committee led by Tyler Allgeier and rookie Jeremiyah Love, with Zonovan Knight also in the mix. Allgeier ran for 147 yards and a touchdown against Dallas, his best game of the year, which gives the Cardinals some reason to believe they can lean on the run.
Defensive Player Stats and Team Rankings
Seattle’s Elite Defense
The Seahawks defense is the main reason they remain favorites with a shuffled quarterback room. Seattle allows only about 250 total yards per game, the best mark in the league, and it has collected 13 takeaways, tied for third in the NFL. The run defense has been even more remarkable. Seattle has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 37 straight games, the longest active streak in the league.
The one caution is red-zone play. Coverage notes this week highlighted red-zone efficiency on both sides of the ball as a weakness for Seattle that could keep a game closer than expected.
Arizona’s Defensive Challenges
Arizona’s defense has struggled to get stops. It allows about 230.8 passing yards per game, 24th in the league, and 122.1 rushing yards per game, 19th. Some analysts consider the unit a bottom-10 group. Defensive coordinator Nick Rallis has not found a reliable answer for Smith-Njigba, and only once this season has any opponent held him under 100 yards.
Seattle vs Arizona Head-to-Head Comparison
Numbers across seasons give the best context for how one-sided this rivalry has become in recent years.
Rivalry History and Series Trends
The two teams first met in 1976, and the Cardinals won each of the first five meetings. Seattle eventually turned the series around and has now won 10 straight games against Arizona, a run that stretches back to the 2021 season. That is the longest winning streak in the history of the matchup, passing the Cardinals’ earlier run of five wins between 1976 and 1995.
A few record-setting results define the rivalry:
- Largest Seahawks win: 58-0 in 2012, also the most points either team has scored in the series
- Largest Cardinals win: 27-3 in 2009
- Most points by Arizona: 39 points in 2015
- Memorable finish: a 34-31 Cardinals win on a late field goal by Chandler Catanzaro in Seattle
Seattle has also swept the Cardinals for four straight seasons, including a 44-22 victory last year at Lumen Field that leaned on a dominant defensive performance.
Week 2 Recap: Seahawks 31, Cardinals 7
The earlier meeting this season was never close. Lock threw three touchdown passes to Smith-Njigba, Emanuel Wilson ran for 92 yards, and Arizona’s offense could not move the ball. Brissett finished with one score and one interception while throwing for just 95 yards and taking two sacks. That result is the biggest piece of evidence for Seattle, although the quarterback change in Arizona makes a direct repeat harder to assume.
Side-by-Side Team Comparison
| Category | Seattle Seahawks | Arizona Cardinals |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 4-4 | 3-5 |
| Recent form | Lost three of last four | Won overtime thriller at Dallas |
| Starting QB | Drew Lock | Gardner Minshew II |
| Total yards allowed per game | About 250 (best in NFL) | Not among the leaders |
| Passing yards allowed per game | Elite pass defense | 230.8 (24th) |
| Rushing yards allowed per game | No 100-yard rusher in 37 games | 122.1 (19th) |
| Rushing yards per game | 109.6 (19th) | Committee approach |
| Takeaways | 13 (tied for third) | Mid-pack |
| Road record | Not applicable | 3 wins, tied for most in NFL |
| Head coach | Mike Macdonald | Mike LaFleur |
| Star skill player | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Trey McBride |
The table shows a clear defensive edge for Seattle and a clear offensive star advantage for Seattle’s receiver, while Arizona’s brightest spots are its road record and the energy Minshew has brought.
Key Player Matchups That Could Decide the Game
Several individual battles deserve attention because they shape how the match unfolds.
Smith-Njigba vs Arizona’s secondary. This is the headline matchup. If Arizona double-teams him, Seattle needs secondary targets such as Tory Horton and tight end AJ Barner to take advantage.
Seattle’s depleted offensive line vs Arizona’s pass rush. With Cross and Nelson out, Lock needs quick throws and a patient run game. Arizona’s best chance to flip the script is to pressure him and force mistakes.
Minshew vs Seattle’s blitz packages. Minshew’s first start of the year comes against the league’s top-ranked defense. How he handles pressure, and whether he can keep drives alive on third down, will define Arizona’s day.
Trey McBride vs Seattle’s linebackers. McBride has produced against this defense before, and short passes give a new quarterback easy completions to build confidence.
Tyler Allgeier vs Seattle’s run defense. The streak of 37 games without a 100-yard rusher is under threat after Allgeier’s big day against Dallas, but Seattle’s front remains the toughest test in the league.
Match Prediction and What the Numbers Suggest
The data points toward a Seattle win, though not necessarily a comfortable one. Seattle owns the better defense, the stronger star player, a ten-game winning streak in the series and home-field advantage. Arizona counters with a recently improved quarterback situation, three road wins and a Seattle team that has lost three of its last four.
Football Nation projected a 27-20 Seahawks win in its preview, and the betting market’s total of about 39.5 suggests many expect a tighter, lower-scoring game. A reasonable reading is that Seattle wins if Lock avoids turnovers and Smith-Njigba gets his usual production, while Arizona stays alive if the offensive line holds up and Minshew converts third downs.
Final Takeaway: What the Player Stats Really Say
The upcoming Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals match comes down to a handful of numbers rather than a long list of them. Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s yardage, Drew Lock’s turnover-free efficiency and Seattle’s league-best defense point one way. Minshew’s first start, Arizona’s improving offense and Seattle’s reshuffled offensive line point the other.
For fans tracking player stats, the three things to watch first are Smith-Njigba’s yards against the Cardinals’ secondary, the pressure rate on both quarterbacks and whether Arizona can break Seattle’s 37-game streak without a 100-yard rusher. If those three categories lean toward Seattle early, the 10-game winning streak is likely to grow. If any of them tip toward Arizona, this rivalry could suddenly look very different.
