‘Felt Really Good’: Drew Lock Delivers Masterpiece as Seahawks Throttle Cardinals
GLENDALE, Ariz. - Stepping in to fill the big shoes left behind by injured starter Sam Darnold, the Seattle Seahawks didn’t need Drew Lock to be a superstar against the Arizona Cardinals to make a successful spot start. They simply needed him to take care of the football and manage the offense.
But in his first NFL start in nearly two years, on the heels of a strong performance subbing in for Darnold in the season opener, Lock orchestrated an All-Pro caliber performance at State Farm Stadium. Slinging the pigskin all over the field with decisiveness, accuracy, and enough zip to register triple digits on a radar gun, he turned in the best outing of his career as the Seahawks pulled away in the second half for a 31-7 rout of the Cardinals to improve to 2-0 and win a franchise record 12th straight game.
After completing 19 out of 26 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns to all-world receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba along with no turnovers, Lock could only gush about the way his supporting cast played around him, from a defense that didn’t give up a single play of more than 10 yards and consistently set the offense up with great field position to an offensive line that protected him all afternoon long and bashed the opposition in the run game throughout the second half.
“Felt really good,” Lock smiled as he summed up Seattle’s well-rounded beatdown. “It was a complete game, I’d say, from both sides of the ball. Special teams as well. Our defense is very good, giving us the ball in advantageous situations… Hats off to them for the way they played. Talk about the o-line for a sec. It’s awesome playing behind those guys. They’re an awesome group, awesome unit. Picked me up all week, talked me through everything all week.”
Known for visualizing plays in his backup role behind Darnold as part of the preparation process during a normal game week, Lock could not have envisioned Sunday’s contest opening with a better first chapter.
Just two plays into the opening series, after Seattle’s defense forced a quick three-and-out, the quarterback dropped back and dished out a subtle pump fake, setting up Smith-Njigba’s double move that baited safety Budda Baker to stepping forward in coverage. With the safety no longer in position to defend him and in trail mode, the receiver to come wide open downfield as he hauled in an 82-yard touchdown from Lock to put the visitors up 7-0 only a few minutes into action.
“That’s the beauty of playing with him,” Lock said of Smith-Njigba winning with the double move. “He’s going to find a way to get open. It might not be the most conventional, but that’s what makes him a ball player and makes him one of the best receivers. That’s what he is and what he does.”
That fast start didn’t lead to much success for the rest of the first half, however, though it wasn’t Lock’s fault at all. One promising drive reached midfield before rookie running back Jadarian Price had the football stripped from his hands by linebacker Zaven Collins and the Cardinals recovered. Another one late in the half advanced inside the Arizona five-yard line before four straight run plays were stuffed at the goal line, leading to a turnover on downs after Emanuel Wilson lost a yard on fourth and goal as the two teams went into the locker room moments later knotted up in a defensive 7-7 stalemate.
Coming out of the break, Lock started wheeling and dealing, aided in part by a fortuitous bounce. Rashid Shaheed fumbled on the opening kickoff in the third quarter, presenting an opportunity for the Cardinals to steal a possession deep in Seahawks territory. But the ball popped up into reserve linebacker Chazz Surratt’s hands and the former college quarterback took off for a 37-yard return into Arizona territory, setting up the offense with fantastic field position.
After Price ripped off a career-long 25-yard run to advance Seattle into the red zone, Lock threaded a seven-yard slant to Smith-Njigba for a touchdown on third and goal, putting the Seahawks back in front 14-7. From that point on, the ball started to roll downhill as a close game quickly turned into a laugher.
“Jax ran a great route and they ended up giving us the look I personally was hoping for and it worked out,” Lock explained, indicating the Cardinals initially showed shell coverage before transitioning into Cover 0 with extra pressure coming after him.
Kicking off the impending avalanche, Seahawks safety Julian Love made a remarkable diving interception against Jacoby Brissett, who appeared to be trying to throw a third down pass away towards the sidelines. Once again, Lock and company opened a drive on the plus side of the field, and he fired a heat-seeking missile between three converging defenders on the first play from scrimmage to tight end Elijah Arroyo, putting so much mustard on the throw that it appeared to knock the receiver over like a bowling pin as he went down at the Cardinals 27-yard line. The drive stalled out with a 33-yard field goal, but the lead grew to 10 points midway through the third quarter.
Getting the ball back after Seattle’s stifling defense forced yet another punt moments later, Lock marched the offense 80 yards on 10 plays, completing three out of four pass attempts along the way as he capped off another scoring drive early in the fourth quarter with a sizzling 12-yard fastball to Smith-Njigba in the back of the end zone. Pushing the lead to 17 in what felt like the blink of an eye, Arizona didn’t have an answer for anything defensively.
Following a third down sack by Jarran Reed and another Cardinals three-and-out possession, the Seahawks demoralized their NFC West rivals, bleeding more than 10 minutes off the clock with a methodical, punishing 16-play, 70-yard drive. Lock only threw two passes the entire drive, though the first one on a quick screen to Smith-Njigba proved to be a critical one, as the receiver turned a 3rd and 2 situation into a new set of downs stretching the ball past the marker.
Riding Wilson and George Holani, Seattle ran the ball 14 times on the series, snatching the soul away from Arizona by grinding out first down after first down after first down. This included a back-breaking 3rd and 8 conversion by Wilson where the bruising 230-pound back managed to power his way to a nine-yard gain, leaving several Cardinals defenders exhausted and sucking for air. Lock thoroughly enjoyed the experience, simply handing off to his backs and letting the offensive line go to work pushing piles all the way down the field before AJ Barner put an exclamation point on the victory with a one-yard “Barn Yard” sneak touchdown.
“I feel like it’s something [coach] Mike [Macdonald] talks about often, about pushing piles often,” Lock said, again crediting the offensive line for dominating in the trenches and imposing its will. “Finishing, going forward, never backwards. I honestly felt like every play looking at that drive and say we were trying to do all of those and probably succeeding on most. Pile pushes don’t always happen, but they were going to try and I know they were. Awesome job.”
Through two weeks, there’s no disputing that Lock has been one of the NFL’s most productive - and arguably the most efficient - quarterbacks in the league spelling Darnold under center for the Seahawks. He currently ranks first in turnover rate and Pro Football Focus’ “Big Time Throw” rate metric while also sitting second in passer rating (127.3) and tied for fourth in touchdowns (four), once again proving that he has the goods to start for a team.
As things stand, Macdonald indicated on his weekly radio show on Seattle Sports 710 that Darnold has a chance to return to practice this week, which could mean he has a shot to play against the Commanders on Sunday. But while the Seahawks undoubtedly want their starting quarterback back in the lineup as soon as possible, given the way Lock has played to start the season in his place, they won’t have any reason to rush Darnold back either with the luxury of having another starter-caliber quarterback on the roster to ensure he comes back fully healthy and not too soon.
Regardless of whether he starts next week or resumes his role as the insurance policy on the sidelines, Lock continues to have a blast as a Seahawk, viewing this latest opportunity to lead the team and shine under center as the most fulfilling of his career thus far.
“Today was a whole lot of fun. I think it was just a cumulation of all the work put in throughout the week, everybody adjusting, myself adjusting, coaches adjusting, the o-line adjusting to my cadence. It was just a fantastic job by everybody to move on quickly and be ready for this week… It was a lot of fun working with everybody in that building. I talk about how much I love the building and the reason I came back, it kind of just played out all week, the love from everybody. Just gotta keep playing good football.”
