The Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 17-3 on Sunday, November 8, 2026, at Lumen Field in Seattle, and they did it without seven starters. Backup quarterback Drew Lock started in place of injured Sam Darnold and played a clean, steady game, completing 19 of 28 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, no fumbles, and no sacks. Tight end AJ Barner scored both Seattle touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air, and the Seahawks defense shut Arizona out after the Cardinals opened the game with a field goal. The win moved Seattle to 5-4, completed a season sweep of Arizona, and stretched the Seahawks winning streak over the Cardinals to 11 straight games.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Final score | Seattle Seahawks 17, Arizona Cardinals 3 |
| Date and place | Sunday, November 8, 2026, Lumen Field, Seattle |
| Week | NFL Week 9 |
| Seahawks record | 5-4 |
| Cardinals record | 3-6 |
| Winning streak | Seahawks have beaten the Cardinals 11 straight times |
| Seattle starting quarterback | Drew Lock, in place of injured Sam Darnold |
| Drew Lock stats | 19 of 28 passing, 175 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions |
| AJ Barner | Scored both Seattle touchdowns |
| Cardinals total yards | 198 |
| Next game | Seahawks travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders |
Drew Lock Steps In and Keeps It Clean
Sam Darnold missed the game with quad and rib injuries, so Drew Lock got the start, and he gave Seattle exactly the kind of game a backup quarterback is supposed to give. He did not force throws. He did not take bad sacks. He moved the offense, protected the ball, and let the rest of the team do its job. His line was 19 of 28 for 175 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions, no fumbles, and no sacks taken.
That last part matters more than the yardage total. Lock was not sacked once behind a line missing two starters, and he did not put the ball in danger. It was his third win as a starter this season, and the numbers now tell a clear story. Seattle is 3-0 when Lock takes the majority of the reps and 1-4 with Darnold under center. Darnold has thrown nine interceptions this season. Lock has thrown none.
The Seahawks asked Lock to manage the game, and he managed it well. He found Barner for the score that put the game out of reach before halftime, and he kept drives alive long enough for the defense to rest and the running game to work. When a team is missing seven starters, the backup quarterback cannot be the reason it loses. Lock was the opposite of that. He was a reason it won.
AJ Barner Scores Both Touchdowns
AJ Barner was the star of the day, and he did it in two different ways. In the second quarter, he scored on a 1-yard rushing touchdown, a play that showed how much trust the Seahawks have in their tight end near the goal line. Then, with 15 seconds left in the first half, Lock found Barner for a 7-yard touchdown catch, and that score sent Seattle into the locker room with a 14-3 lead and full control of the game.
Two touchdowns from a tight end is a big day on its own. Doing it one way on the ground and one way through the air makes it the kind of performance fans remember. Barner has grown into a real weapon in this offense, and the Seahawks are finding more ways to use him. He can block, he can catch, and as Sunday showed, he can even carry the ball across the goal line when the moment calls for it.
Seattle fans have watched this team find different heroes all season, and on Sunday it was Barner. When a team is missing starters all over the field, someone has to step up, and Barner stepped up twice. For more on how Seattle has handled tough nights this season, read our report on the Bears beat Seahawks 34-17 Monday night game, a reminder that this team has had to bounce back before.
The Defense Shuts Arizona Down After the Opening Drive
Arizona actually started the game well. The Cardinals put together a 10-play, 89-yard drive on their first possession and kicked a 28-yard field goal from Chad Ryland to take a 3-0 lead. It looked like the kind of day where the short-handed Seahawks might be in trouble. Then the Seattle defense took over, and Arizona did not score again.
The Cardinals finished with only 198 total yards, a number that tells the story of the game as well as the score does. Gardner Minshew completed 21 of 30 passes for 166 yards, but he threw no touchdowns, and the Arizona offense never found a rhythm after that first drive. The Seahawks tackled well, covered well, and made the Cardinals earn every yard.
The biggest defensive play came late in the game. With Arizona trying to get back into it, Minshew threw a fourth-and-goal pass to tight end Trey McBride in the end zone, and Seattle safety Nick Emmanwori broke it up. That play ended any real hope the Cardinals had left. It was the kind of stand that defines a defense, a goal-line stop when the game was still close enough to matter.
Seattle was missing defensive tackle Leonard Williams and linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, two of its best defenders, and it still held Arizona to three points. That says a lot about the depth on this roster and the coaching on that side of the ball. The Seahawks did not just survive without their starters. They dominated. For context on other Week 9 results around the league, see our recap of the Rams beat Commanders 20-13 as Puka Nacua gained 150 yards on November 8.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Reaches 1,000 Yards
Jaxon Smith-Njigba had seven catches for 51 yards on Sunday, and those numbers do not look huge on paper. But they carried him past 1,000 receiving yards for the season, a milestone that puts him among the best receivers in the league this year. He has been the most reliable target in the Seattle passing game all season, and he was reliable again on Sunday, even with a backup quarterback throwing him the ball.
Smith-Njigba has a way of getting open that makes life easier for whoever is under center. He runs clean routes, he catches the ball in traffic, and he turns short throws into first downs. Lock leaned on him when he needed a safe completion, and Smith-Njigba delivered. That kind of trust between a quarterback and a receiver does not happen overnight, and it is a big reason Seattle could win with its backup in the game.
Reaching 1,000 yards in Week 9 also says something about how the Seahawks offense is built. Even when the quarterback changes and starters go down, the passing game still runs through Smith-Njigba, and it still works. He is the steady piece that holds the offense together when everything else is shifting.
A Short-Handed Win That Means More Than One Game
The list of missing Seahawks was long. Darnold was out. Williams was out. Nwosu was out. Receiver Rashid Shaheed was out. Guard Quenton Nelson was out. Tackle Charles Cross was out. That is seven starters, spread across the offense and the defense, and most teams would use that as a reason to lose. Seattle used it as a reason to play harder.
Jason Myers added a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 17-3, and from there the Seahawks simply closed the game out. They held the ball for the final 4:35, running the clock down and leaving Arizona with no chance to come back. It was the kind of finish that good teams produce, calm, physical, and controlled.
The win also completed the season sweep of Arizona and made it 11 straight wins over the Cardinals. That streak is not a small thing. Division games are supposed to be hard, and rivalries are supposed to go back and forth. Seattle has owned this matchup for years now, and Sunday was another chapter in that story.
There are still questions to answer. The quarterback situation will be a talking point all week, and the injuries need to heal. But a 5-4 record with a win like this one, short-handed and in control from the second quarter on, is a good place to be heading into the second half of the season. The Seahawks travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders next, then get a Week 11 bye to rest and recover. For the latest on other injury news around the league, read our update on Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel likely out for the 49ers and Raiders in Week 9.
FAQs
Who won the Seahawks vs Cardinals game on November 8, 2026?
The Seattle Seahawks won 17-3 at Lumen Field in Seattle. It was an NFL Week 9 game, and the win moved Seattle to 5-4 while Arizona fell to 3-6.
How did Drew Lock play against the Cardinals?
Lock started in place of injured Sam Darnold and completed 19 of 28 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions, no fumbles, and no sacks. It was his third win as a starter this season, and Seattle is 3-0 when Lock takes the majority of the reps.
How many touchdowns did AJ Barner score?
Barner scored both Seattle touchdowns. He ran in a 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter and caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Lock with 15 seconds left in the first half.
How many straight times have the Seahawks beaten the Cardinals?
The Seahawks have now beaten the Cardinals 11 straight times, and the November 8 win completed a season sweep of Arizona.
Sources
Final Thoughts
The Seahawks beat the Cardinals 17-3 on a day when almost everything was stacked against them, and that is what makes this win worth remembering. Seven starters were out, the starting quarterback was out, and the backup had to carry the offense. Instead of falling apart, Seattle played one of its cleanest games of the season. Lock protected the ball, Barner found the end zone twice, the defense gave up only three points, and Smith-Njigba passed 1,000 yards for the season.
The Seahawks now head to Las Vegas to face the Raiders, and then they get a Week 11 bye to heal up. If Darnold returns healthy, Seattle will have a real decision to make at quarterback, because Lock has now won three games as a starter without throwing a single interception. For now, the Seahawks can enjoy a 17-3 win, a season sweep, and an 11-game winning streak over a division rival. Not bad for a short-handed Sunday.
