AJ Barner Scores Twice as the Seahawks Hold the Cardinals to Three Points in a 17-3 Win

The Arizona Cardinals started their first drive at their own 1-yard line and marched 89 yards for points. It was the best thing they did all afternoon, and it was finished before the first quarter was half over.

The Seattle Seahawks did not allow another point. Tight end AJ Barner scored on a 1-yard run and a 7-yard catch in the second quarter, Drew Lock played turnover-free football in place of the injured Sam Darnold, and Seattle stuffed a fourth-and-goal at its own 2 late in the fourth quarter to win 17-3 on Sunday at Lumen Field. Seattle improves to 5-4 six days after a 34-17 Monday night loss to Chicago. Arizona falls to 3-6 and has now lost 11 straight to Seattle, including both meetings this season.

A Field Goal, Then Nothing

Arizona's opening march, helped along by a Seattle unnecessary roughness penalty, stalled at the Seattle 10, and Chad Ryland kicked a 28-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. On paper it was a promising beginning for Gardner Minshew, making a first start for the Cardinals one week after coming off the bench to lead a comeback in Dallas.

Seattle took the lead 37 seconds into the second quarter, when Barner dove in from a yard out for the third rushing touchdown of Barner's career. The Seahawks added to it just before halftime. A pass interference penalty and an 18-yard catch by Jaxon Smith-Njigba moved the ball inside the 10, and Lock found Barner for a 7-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left in the half. The score survived a replay review, and Seattle went to the locker room up 14-3.

The third quarter brought one more score and one scare. Jason Myers hit a 45-yard field goal with 3:54 left in the period to make it 17-3. Earlier in that drive, Lock grabbed at one side after a throw and went to the medical tent, then came back out and finished the game.

Arizona's best chance came late. Minshew moved the Cardinals to a first-and-goal at the Seattle 4 with about six minutes left, but they could not punch it in, and on fourth-and-goal from the 2 Minshew's pass for Trey McBride fell incomplete. Seattle took over and ran out the clock.

Barner, Price and a Defense Missing a Star

Barner's box score line will not jump off the page: two catches for 7 yards and three carries for 3 yards. It still accounted for every Seattle touchdown, and it came on a day the Seahawks needed someone besides Smith-Njigba to do damage near the goal line.

Lock, now 2-0 as a starter this season, finished 19 of 28 for 175 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers, and added 16 yards on five carries. That last part matters for an offense that has struggled to hold onto the ball; Seattle entered the week with a negative turnover differential despite a defense that takes the ball away at a high rate, per Seattle Sports. Lock also came into the game managing an elbow issue before the side injury, which coach Mike Macdonald later called an oblique, according to the Seattle Times via CBS Sports.

Smith-Njigba caught seven passes for 51 yards, only the second time this season the receiver has been held under 100 yards. Even so, Smith-Njigba crossed 1,000 receiving yards for the year, becoming the first player in the league to get there this season and, per the Associated Press, the third Seahawk with three straight 1,000-yard seasons, joining Steve Largent and Tyler Lockett. Rookie running back Jadarian Price led Seattle in receiving with four catches for 54 yards, including a 15-yard grab that converted a third-and-8. Zach Charbonnet carried 16 times for 77 yards.

The defense did the heavy lifting without defensive tackle Leonard Williams, who was out with a stinger. Byron Murphy, DeMarcus Lawrence and Dante Fowler Jr. each sacked Minshew once, and safety Julian Love led the team with eight tackles. Arizona finished with 198 total yards, 50 of them on the ground, and converted 4 of 13 third downs.

Minshew went 21 of 30 for 166 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. McBride caught seven passes for 54 yards, stretching McBride's streak of games with at least seven catches to 11, per AZCardinals.com, and Michael Wilson added six catches for 60 yards. Tyler Allgeier ran 17 times for 46 yards. "Frustrating, obviously," Minshew said. "Word to describe the whole day."

The Stand at the 2

Seattle came into Sunday with the league's worst red zone defense, allowing touchdowns on more than 80 percent of opponent trips inside the 20, according to Seattle Sports. Arizona went 0 for 2 there.

The second failure sealed the game. Trailing by 14 with the ball inside the Seattle 5, the Cardinals had four tries to make it a one-score game with enough time left for an onside kick and a prayer. They came away with nothing, and safety Nick Emmanwori broke up the fourth-down throw. "We were a little bit off, one way or another on a lot of our plays," Minshew said. "And against a good team like that, you're not going to have that many chances."

Arizona coach Mike LaFleur did not single anyone out. "It was a collective effort to only score three points," LaFleur said. Asked about turning to rookie Carson Beck, LaFleur answered simply: "No."

The Numbers Behind It

• 11 straight wins for Seattle over Arizona.
• 0 turnovers by the Seahawks.
• 198 total yards for the Cardinals, with just 50 on the ground.
• 0 for 2 in the red zone for Arizona.
• 7 of 14 on third down for Seattle.
• 1,000 receiving yards for Smith-Njigba this season, the first player in the NFL to reach the mark.

What It Means

Seattle is back above .500, but the quarterback room is a triage unit. Darnold sat with a quad injury suffered in the loss to Chicago, Lock is dealing with the oblique, and Macdonald said Lock's status for next week was "still up in the air." If neither can go, third-round pick Jalen Milroe would make a first regular-season start, per CBS Sports. Receiver Rashid Shaheed and linebacker Uchenna Nwosu were also ruled out with injuries. The Seahawks visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 15 before their bye.

Arizona, meanwhile, made its quarterback change in a hurry. The Cardinals handed the job to Minshew after Minshew's overtime heroics in the Week 8 win at Dallas and then traded Jacoby Brissett to Baltimore. One week later, the offense looked like the one Minshew inherited. Defensive lineman Roy Lopez also left with a toe injury early in the second quarter and did not return. The Cardinals host the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 15.

Navy Blues for Arizona

Seattle wore its all college navy uniforms on Sunday, a combination it had won nine straight times in entering the day, according to the team. Make it 10, and make it 11 in a row over Arizona. For a team that does not know who will take its next snap, the uniform and the opponent are about the only sure things right now.

Stats from the box score via theScore. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and Seattle Sports. Additional reporting from Seahawks.com, AZCardinals.com, CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated.