GLENDALE, Ariz. — Bruce Arians said he wasn’t going to buy into any of the hype about the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers being the class of the NFC West.
After his team suffered consecutive losses to the Seahawks and 49ers by a combined 24 points, including a 34-22 setback to Seattle on Thursday night at University of Phoenix Stadium, the Arizona Cardinals coach might have no choice but to admit that he could have been wrong.
The Seahawks got a productive game from quarterback Russell Wilson and outgained the Cardinals 344 yards to 234 in improving to 6-1, the best record in the NFC.
Wilson tossed three touchdown passes, matching his total from his past three games, and he completed 18 of 29 passes for 235 yards and no interceptions.
“I don’t know where we’d be without him,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.
Marshawn Lynch rushed 21 times for 91 yards and a score against an Arizona run defense that ranked among the stingiest in the league. The Seahawks gained 135 yards on the ground.
“Can anybody be any tougher?” Wilson said of Lynch, noting how many times it took the Cardinals multiple defenders to bring down the running back. “You really think about how tough he is, how he runs the football, his mentality, and he’s got great hands, too — there can’t be too many guys any better.”
The Cardinals (3-4) continue to have problems making anything happen offensively. They couldn’t run the ball, and Carson Palmer threw two more interceptions, giving him 13 through seven games.
Only the New York Giants’ Eli Manning, with 15 picks, has been intercepted more times this season.
Palmer completed 30 of 45 passes for 258 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked seven times.
Arians was asked if he considered making a quarterback change and inserting Drew Stanton.
“No,” he said. “It’s the reasons for the interceptions. Is it his decision-making? If it’s his decision-making, then we will make a change. The first one to me was obvious pass interference, and the safety makes a great play. The second one was just a poor decision. Those are the ones we have to look at.”
The Seahawks broke the game open in the third quarter when, after Wilson found tight end Kellen Davis for a 1-yard touchdown, Brandon Browner intercepted a Palmer pass and returned it 49 yards to the Arizona 4-yard line.
Two plays later, Lynch spun his way into the end zone for a 31-13 lead with 3:52 left in the third quarter.
Seattle got on the scoreboard first. A 23-yard catch-and-run from Luke Willson and a 15-yard scamper from Lynch preceded the play of the first half by Wilson.
On first-and-10 from the Arizona 31-yard line, Wilson was flushed out of the pocked by three pass rushers. From the 43, Wilson reared back and threw deep off his back foot. Sidney Rice was wide open in the end zone, and the Seahawks led 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
“We wanted to come out and make a statement this year,” Rice said. “If you’re going to be a great team, you have to win on the road. No excuses.”
The Arizona offense made some plays early, but its first possession was throttled by a 14-yard sack of Palmer by Tony McDaniel, and the Cardinals’ second drive ended with a turnover.
Palmer tried going deep down the left sideline to Larry Fitzgerald on first-and-10 from the Arizona 41. The pass was broken up, and safety Earl Thomas intercepted it before the ball hit the ground.
“We can be frustrated today and tomorrow, but we have to move on,” Palmer said. “It’s a long, long season. There are a lot of weird things that have been going on in the NFC, and in no way are we out of anything.”
The Seahawks didn’t waste any time converting the pick into points. Wilson directed an efficient 11-play, 72-yard drive, capping it with a 15-yard scoring pass to tight end Zach Miller to make it 14-0 less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Arizona’s offense never seemed to find any rhythm early, but the Cardinals’ defense helped trim the lead to 14-10 before halftime.
The Cardinals stopped the Seahawks on downs near midfield, and the offense did just enough to put Jay Feely in position to make a 49-yard field goal with 4:02 left in the second quarter.
Just 22 seconds later, Matt Shaughnessy sacked Wilson, causing a fumble, and Calais Campbell recovered at the Seattle 3. Rashard Mendenhall took the ensuing handoff and rumbled up the middle for a touchdown.
The Seahawks put together a scoring drive late in the first half, but two holding penalties forced them to settle for a 51-yard Steven Hauschka field goal with five seconds remaining.
NOTES: Campbell was active for the game and was back in the starting lineup just four days after being carted off the field in San Francisco because of a bruised spine. … Seattle was without LB Bobby Wagner (ankle), but DE Chris Clemons (elbow) was able to go. Clemons registered a first-half sack. … The game marked the first time in Palmer’s career that he played against his former college coach, Carroll. … Cardinals second-year RT Bobby Massie, the second-teamer behind Eric Winston, was activated for the first time this season. … Seahawks S Jeron Johnson suffered a strained hamstring in the first quarter and did not return. … Seattle FB Derrick Coleman injured a hamstring in the second quarter and did not return.