Halftime Observations: Jaxon Smith-Njigba Strikes Early, Seahawks Battle Cardinals to 7-7 Tie
Throwing the first haymaker in the desert, Drew Lock hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for an 82-yard touchdown on the Seattle Seahawks’ second play from scrimmage, ultimately going into the half tied up with the Arizona Cardinals 7-7 at State Farm Stadium.
Here are three quick observations from a defensive-oriented first half in Glendale:
1. Even with the roof closed, lightning strikes early in the form of Smith-Njigba feasting on busted coverage.
Starting his first NFL game since 2024 when he played for the Giants, the Seahawks hoped to get Lock into a rhythm early with a few easy completions, similar to how he got untracked in the second half last week in a comeback win over the Patriots. But offensive coordinator Brian Fleury likely didn’t expect that “easy” pass to be downfield to an uncovered Smith-Njigba, who came loose wide open with a double move as safety Budda Baker took the bait and got left in the dust. Without another defender in support, Lock was able to loft a deep ball to the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, who did the rest coasting into the end zone for an 82-yard score, the longest touchdown of his career.
After three consecutive drives that ended punt, fumble, and punt, Lock went back to his most trusted weapon, hitting Smith-Njigba for a pair of first down throws to advance into the red zone for the first time. Unfortunately, the drive sputtered with four straight run plays inside the 10-yard line, including Emanuel Wilson getting stuffed on third and fourth down to send Seattle back to the sideline without any points.
2. Ball security concerns resurface for Price, but rookie responds positively as run game tries to find traction.
Pitted against his former college backfield mate in Jeremiyah Love, Price’s second NFL game has featured far more adversity than his debut. Arizona did a great job of bottling him up early, limiting him to 22 yards on nine carries for the half. The rookie also learned a valuable lesson while trying to push the pile on a second quarter run with multiple defenders draped on him, as linebacker Zaven Collins ended up stripping the football out of his hands and recovering the fumble near midfield, ending what had been a promising drive. To the rookie’s credit, he did come back with a chip on his shoulder, bowling over safety Andrew Winguard on an 11-yard run on his next carry, but he still finished with an ugly 2.4 yards per carry.
Away from Price, Wilson has been Seattle’s second back instead of George Holani, and found success on his first series with 19 yards on three carries, including a bruising 10-yard run. But at the goal line, he wasn’t able to finish off a promising drive late in the first half with blocking breaking down in front of him, leading to him ending the half with just 21 yards on six carries as the Seahawks went into intermission averaging under three yards per carry.
3. Combination of Trey McBride, Jeremiyah Love create plenty of challenges for Mike Macdonald’s defense.
Statistically, the Seahawks had a stellar half overall defensively, forcing five punts, including three of the three-and-out variety. Most notably, Macdonald’s unit quickly got off the field after Price’s fumble, preventing the Cardinals from getting any points off of the turnover. With that said, there will certainly be a few things that the coaching staff will want to adjust for, starting with the defense of All-Pro tight end Trey McBride. Though he finished with just 33 yards on seven catches, he came through on a fourth down conversion in the red zone by beating Josh Jobe on an out-breaking route for a three-yard score, and Macdonald hasn’t had Nick Emmanwori in for many plays in his season debut to help counter the tight end’s talents.
Meanwhile, Arizona has found moderate success with Love in the wide zone game, getting to the edge and creating running room on several carries. He’s also caught a pair of passes for 16 yards out of the backfield, which could be more of a focal point in the second half for Mike Lafleur’s offense. Luckily, the rookie’s overall numbers as a rusher have been pedestrian at best thanks to a couple of timely tackles for loss on him in the backfield made by Devon Witherspoon and Drake Thomas.
