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# Report Card: Top Performers in Seahawks’ 44-22 Thrashing of Cardinals
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/report-card-top-performers-seattle-seahawks-44-22-thrashing-arizona-cardinals/
- Published: 2025-11-12T03:49:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:57:17.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, Tyrice Knight, Demarcus Lawrence, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Zach Charbonnet, Riq Woolen

\[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="4138"\]

![  Seattle Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48) celebrates after stripping the ball on a sack for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images  ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/usatsi_27546723-format-original.jpg)

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48) celebrates after stripping the ball on a sack for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images \[/caption\]

Keeping pace with the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West and vaulting up the NFC standings, the Seattle Seahawks broke open their Week 10 rematch with the Arizona Cardinals early before cruising to a 44-22 victory to improve to 7-2 on the season.

Looking back the All-22 film from Sunday’s beatdown, who shined the brightest for the Seahawks as they finished off a season sweep of the Cardinals? Here are my top five graded performers from an impressive early November win at Lumen Field:

### Tyrice Knight

**Overall Grade**: 91.0 (Run Defense 86, Tackling 90, Pass Rush 95, Coverage 88)

Thrust into the starting lineup in place of an injured Ernest Jones, Knight put on a show from the outset at the MIKE linebacker spot, starting with a pair of strip sacks on Jacoby Brissett that turned into defensive touchdowns. On Arizona’s opening possession, he looped back behind a hard slanting Demarcus Lawrence on the blitz and with Nick Emmanwori being picked up by the running back, he flew through the line unimpeded and blasted the quarterback after a play action fake to force the first fumble. In the following quarter, it was deja vu for Knight and Seattle’s defense, as he sugared the A-gap and blitzed straight through it before shrugging off a block attempt by the running back, once again demolishing Brissett and punching the ball out before he started his throwing motion to create another fumble that Lawrence scooped up to return for six points.

Helping generate 14 points on the scoreboard alone would have put Knight in the top five grades, but he did more than just ambush Brissett as a lethal blitzer. Back healthy after missing most of training camp and the preseason, the second-year linebacker recorded a tackle for loss on running back Michael Carter in the fourth quarter, joining forces with Drake Thomas for three combined tackles for loss from the position. He also nearly hauled in his first interception in the third quarter on a fourth and goal attempt by the Cardinals, converging on the football along with Emmanwori to force a turnover on downs at the goal line. Overall, he racked up eight tackles with two sacks, two forced fumbles, a tackle for loss, and a pass defensed, stuffing the stat sheet with the best game of his young career.

### Jaxon Smith-Njigba

**Overall Grade**: 89.0 (Receiving 92, Run Blocking 70\*)

*\*Weighted for 13 run blocking snaps.*

Another week, another dominant performance by Smith-Njigba, and he did so while only having one catch and one target in the final three quarters. The rising Offensive Player of the Year candidate may have narrowly missed out on the 100-yard mark for the first time in five games, but he still hauled in five receptions for 93 yards and added to his league lead in receptions traveling 20-plus yards through the air on a 43-yard touchdown grab from Sam Darnold on the game’s opening possession. On that play, the Cardinals had a defender right on his hip pocket with another safety coming over to help, but it didn’t matter, as the receiver nonchalantly boxed out Garrett Williams to reel in the contested pass over his shoulder with ease for six points to open the scoring.

On the very next offensive series, Smith-Njigba moved the chains twice on 14 and 17-yard receptions and also drew an unnecessary roughness penalty on safety Budda Baker for an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit, quickly moving the Seahawks into opposing territory to set up a nine-yard touchdown run for George Holani that pushed the advantage to 21-0\. Even without the football in his hands, he helped create another scoring opportunity by drawing a hold on Denzel Burke in the end zone, creating a first and goal situation that paved the way for a touchdown run by Zach Charbonnet. He later added an 11-yard catch in the fourth quarter to open a drive that resulted in one of Jason Myers’ three field goals on the afternoon, quietly leading the team in receptions and receiving yards with a blowout limiting his chances to make an impact in the second half.

### Riq Woolen

**Overall Grade**: 86.5 (Run Defense 86, Tackling 80, Coverage 94)

A subject of ridicule, whether fair or not, for much of the first half of the season with unfinished plays left on the field far too often, Woolen has rounded back into form as of late, playing some of his best football with the Seahawks opting not to trade him at the deadline. He played impeccable coverage throughout Sunday’s game, allowing just two completions on eight targets for a grand total of 13 yards while recording a pair of pass breakups. Late in the second quarter, he reached in front of Marvin Harrison Jr. for his first pass breakup, knocking it away without preventing the receiver from being able to try to make a play via a hold. He later took away a potential touchdown for Trey McBride on a fade route, getting a piece of the ball with both arms stretched in front of the tight end for a crucial pass deflection.

While Trey McBride did truck him a couple of times along the sideline and Woolen did miss a tackle, he generally played rock solid defense as a tackler against the run and the pass. He finished fifth on the team with three tackles on receivers in space, limiting them to just 11 total yards after the catch to go with an impressive 25% forced incompletion rate. That sticky coverage with quality ball production bodes well for Woolen’s trajectory in the second half of the season, and his presence helped hold all of Arizona’s receivers to under 34 yards receiving for the entire game in what should be a real confidence booster for him.

### Demarcus Lawrence

**Overall Grade**: 86.0 (Run Defense 84, Tackling 90, Pass Rush 84)

Stating the obvious, Lawrence carved out a spot on this list by making history in the first half, becoming just the fourth player in NFL history and second since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970 to return two fumbles for touchdowns in the same game. The first fumble created by Knight bounced off the turf right into the veteran defender’s hands, making it easy for him to catch and run on a 34-yard return to give Seattle an early 14-0 advantage. With lightning striking twice in the second quarter, he showed off far more impressive ball skills, one-handing the fumble as it popped into the air and rumbling 22 yards to the end zone before putting up a jump shot in the end zone to celebrate as the lead ballooned to 28 points.

But away from producing 14 of the Seahawks’ 35 unanswered points to open the game, Lawrence found other ways to continue tormenting Brissett and the Cardinals’ hapless offense. During the second quarter, he used a nifty crossover step coupled with a right-handed stab move to shoot past pulling guard Evan Brown, teaming up with Emmanwori for a partial sack on Brissett after the quarterback tried to step up in the pocket. He added two other quarterback hits later in the game that forced incompletions and tacked on a tackle for loss on Zonovan Knight in the third quarter, making impact play after impact play to the delight of the sellout Lumen Field crowd.

### Zach Charbonnet

**Overall Grade**: 84.0 (Rushing 86, Pass Blocking 76\*)

*\*Weighted for one pass protection snap.*

For much of this season, Charbonnet’s high usage rate has been criticized by fans with Ken Walker III having a significantly better yards per carry average. But the third-year runner demonstrated why offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has maintained confidence in the bruising ball carrier, as he has the ability to do consistent damage between the tackles while also being a highly dependable short yardage and goal line option. While held under 2.5 yards per carry in the first half, he showcased his power and explosiveness on a spectacular six-yard touchdown run, managing to leap and power through a tackle in the air to sneak the ball past the goal line before his elbow hit the ground to increase the lead to 35-0 midway through the second quarter.

After halftime, Charbonnet shouldered the load and then some as the Seahawks successfully chewed up big chunks of time off the game clock. Anchoring a 13-play, 79-yard scoring drive that lasted more than seven minutes before Myers connected on a 32-yard field goal, he ran the ball seven times for 61 yards, starting the possession with a 30-yard scamper and moving the chains on a hard-nosed three-yard run on 3rd and 1\. Three of his rushes on that drive picked up first downs and he racked up 77 yards after contact by forcing six missed tackles, spearheading a resurgent ground game that finally put away a game in the fourth quarter. He also made a nice blitz pickup on his only pass protection rep to put the cherry on top of his best game of the season thus far.