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Cardinals 23, Seahawks 13: Takeaways and observations in the Week 11 win

jess root
·3 min read
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The Arizona Cardinals played without quarterback Kyler Murray and receiver DeAndre Hopkins for the third game in a row. It didn’t matter.

They improved to 9-2 on the season with a 23-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks on the road.

Quarterback Colt McCoy was great. He completed 35-of-44 passes for 328 yards and two touchdowns. They got important contributions from a number of players on offense, and the defense was stellar.

In all, they won their sixth game on the road and their fourth in the division and enter the bye in first place in the NFC despite not having their best offensive players for three weeks.

What can we take away from the game?

Our takeaways and observations from the win are below.

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Air Raid means ball control?

Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Long criticized as an offense that would produce three-and-outs and tire out a team’s defense, the Cardinals showed that they can play fast and play slow.

Against the Seahawks, they had four possession with nine or more plays. They had three that lasted at six and a half minutes or longer.

They ran 30 more plays than Seattle and possessed the ball for more than 40 minutes.

Colt McCoy was great

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You can’t expect more from a backup than what the Cardinals have gotten in three games from McCoy, especially on Sunday. He completed 80% of his passes for 328 yards and two touchdowns. It was his first 300-yard passing game since 2014. It appears that Kyler Murray will return after the bye, but they went 2-1 with McCoy starting.

That’s great.

Newcomers on offense all produce

(AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

The Cardinals added a number of players on offense this year, whether it was the offseason or after the season began. They were money on Sunday.

  • QB Colt McCoy: 328 yards and two touchdown passes.

  • RB James Conner: 99 total yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown.

  • WR A.J. Green: four receptions, 78 yards

  • TE Zach Ertz: eight catches, 88 yards, two touchdowns

  • Rookie WR Rondale Moore: 11 catches, 51 yards

  • WR Antoine Wesley: four catches, 44 yards

The defense was great

Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Seattle had been struggling offensively. They did not get right against Arizona.

Seattle gained only 266 yards. They only scored 13 points. They possessed the ball less than 20 minutes. They were 2-for-10 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down.

They held Russell Wilson without a touchdown pass. It was the second straight game he did not have one, the first time since 2016 that he went consecutive games without one.

Matt Prater was oddly bad

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Prater missed an extra point and two field goals. It was weird. They were fortunate that they didn’t need them because they still won by 10.

Rodney Hudson struggled with snaps

(AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

For the second week in a row after his return, Hudson seemed to be snapping the ball too low. It even led to a fumbled snap.

The Cardinals are in complete control of the division

Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

With the win, they improved to 4-0 in their division games. They have at least one win over every other team in the NFC West. No other team in the division can beat them with a head-to-head tiebreaker or with a division record tiebreaker. The Rams, 49ers and Seahawks all have lost at least twice in the division, so the best they can do is match the Cardinals’ worst possible division record of 4-2.

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