A win’s a win, and the Seattle Seahawks had to take this one. The Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 17-3 to complete the season sweep and get back in the win column. It also counts as a divisional win, which only adds to its value.

Was it pretty? Not really. Outside of the defense, this wasn’t a dominant performance from the Seahawks. The game was mostly a slog, and Seattle did what it had to do to get the job done. Still, this team needed a win, and it got one.

Plenty of players earned a spot among the winners. Only two names landed on the other side of the ledger.

Winners

QB Drew Lock

Lock started against the Cardinals again, and he did everything the Seahawks could want from a backup quarterback. He ran the offense well, protected the football, and didn’t force throws into many dangerous windows. He got the ball to his playmakers and threw accurate passes on a rope all day. 

Lock threw a touchdown pass, posted a strong completion percentage, and didn’t take a sack. That’s a great day at the office for a backup.

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

The box score only shows 51 yards on seven catches, but Smith-Njigba got open early and often for Lock. Seattle needs to use him in a wider variety of ways, no question. Yet, his impact still showed up, and the attention he drew from Arizona opened things up for the rest of the offense.

TE AJ Barner

Barner scored on a tush push and then added a touchdown late in the first half on a pass over the middle. That second one was debatable. Maybe he caught it, maybe he didn’t. Either way, the officials gave it to him. Barner ended last season on a high note and has been hit or miss this year, so a big game from him was good to see.

RB Jadarian Price

The rookie didn’t do much on the ground, but he made his mark through the air. Price led the Seahawks with 54 receiving yards, made some nice over-the-shoulder catches, and shredded the Cardinals back-half. It was a strong showing from a player who is still working his way back.

RB Zach Charbonnet

Charbonnet is working his way back too, and he looked the part in this one. He led the team with 77 rushing yards and ran for nearly five yards a carry. The Cardinals made contact early on a lot of his runs, and he kept his legs churning for yards he created himself. 

Charbonnet was phenomenal and helped Seattle put the stamp on this one. 

The Defensive front

Too many guys from this unit deserve credit to single out just one. DeMarcus Lawrence got a sack, along with Byron Murphy II and Dante Fowler. Derick Hall piled up three tackles for loss. This group lived in the backfield all day and never gave Cardinals QB Gardner Minshew time to do much of anything. 

Holding a division opponent to three points starts up front, and that’s a big deal.

CB Josh Jobe

Jobe should have had an interception, but a weak pass interference call wiped it off the board. Look past that and he was solid in coverage for most of the day. He added a pass deflection and did a good job in the back half.

Losers

S Julian Love

Love led the team in tackles, but I think that says more about his coverage than anything else. He allowed some easy receptions and didn’t do much in the back half. A tackle total like that from a safety usually means the other team is completing passes in front of him.

That was the case today.

OC Brian Fleury

Not much needs to be said here. 

This was more of the same from Seattle’s offensive coordinator: a complete lack of creativity. 

Smith-Njigba is one of the best receivers in the league, and the Seahawks still aren’t finding enough ways to move him around and get him going. That certainly doesn’t help considering how Seattle doesn’t really know how to get any other receivers going in their offense. 

What’s next for Seattle

The defense carried this game. When a unit holds an opponent to a field goal, the offense doesn’t need to be special. It does need to be better than this, though.

Lock did his job, and the backfield is getting healthy. If Fleury opens up the playbook, this offense has the pieces to take some pressure off the defense. If he doesn’t, I think Seattle will keep winning ugly at best, and that won’t hold up against better teams.