Smith-Njigba Tops 1,000 Yards as Seahawks Beat Cardinals

Jaxon Smith-Njigba carried Seattle’s offense right when it needed him. On the final drive of the first half, he caught three passes and drew a pass interference flag on an 81-yard march that ended with AJ Barner’s 7-yard touchdown catch. The Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 17-3 at Lumen Field without starting quarterback Sam Darnold, and Smith-Njigba became the first receiver in the NFL to reach 1,000 yards this season, the Associated Press reported.

Seattle is 5-4 and bounced back from a 34-17 home loss to Chicago on Monday night. That ties the Seahawks with the Rams for second in the NFC West, two and a half games behind the 7-1 49ers. Arizona falls to 3-6 and has now lost 11 straight to Seattle.

Another 1,000-Yard Season

All seven of Smith-Njigba’s catches came in the first half, for 51 yards, one of the quieter lines of his season. It was still enough. He is the third player in franchise history with three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons, joining Hall of Famer Steve Largent and Tyler Lockett.

Drew Lock started in place of Darnold, who was ruled out with a quad injury and also cracked a rib in the loss to the Bears. Lock went 19 of 28 for 175 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers. He grabbed his right hip during a long third-quarter drive and went into the medical tent but returned on the next series.

Barner Scored Both Touchdowns

Barner dove in from a yard out to start the second quarter for Seattle’s first lead, then caught the 7-yard touchdown before the half, which stood after a long review. Zach Charbonnet ran 16 times for 77 yards, and Jason Myers added a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter for the final margin.

The defense took it from there. Gardner Minshew, in his first week as Arizona’s starter, went 21 of 30 for 166 yards. The Cardinals did not score after their opening drive, and Seattle stopped them on fourth-and-goal from the 2 when Nick Emmanwori broke up a throw to Trey McBride.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Jaxon Smith-Njigba receptions at Las Vegas. Seattle went to him on three straight passes to open the game and leaned on him again on the touchdown drive before the half. If Darnold is ruled out again and Lock starts, the lean holds, since Lock looked for Smith-Njigba first all day.

It was not pretty, but the Seahawks are back above .500 with a trip to Las Vegas next.