Cardinals @ Seahawks
Final Score: Seahawks 16 – Cardinals 6
Writer: Jesse Maida
Both football teams struggled to score points, displaying anemic performances on offense, which featured seven sacks and nine punts in the first half alone. Geno Smith hit his key playmakers in the biggest moments, while Kyler Murray failed to lead his team to an offensive touchdown for the first time since September 2022. The Seahawks are now officially the leaders in the NFC West after riding their red-hot defense to a critical win over their division rival.
Two Up
- Trey McBride – Record-setting day for McBride, who was the entire Cardinals offense. He would be the TE1 if he could ever find the end zone.
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba – 375 Yards, 23 Receptions, 3 TDs in last three games. It looks like WR1 JSN is here to stay.
Two Down
- DK Metcalf – Received his fewest targets since week 1. DK has taken a back seat to JSN since returning from an MCL sprain. He should still be considered a WR2 for now.
- James Conner – Nightmare performance from the Cardinals’ rushing attack, especially Conner, who had a 0% rushing success rate. Conner’s last 19 carries have gone for 41 yards. Will Trey Benson be more of a factor down the stretch?
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Kyler Murray: 24/37, 285 Yards | 2 Carries, 9 Yards
It was a rough day for Murray, who was hit seven times, sacked five times, threw a costly interception on a head-scratching play, and failed to lead his team to an offensive touchdown. Murray came out firing, passing on 71% of plays in the first half, and even increased his passing frequency in the second half. With this pass-heavy game plan, Murray threw for 285 yards, his second-highest total of the season, which should have led to strong fantasy production, but no touchdowns and only nine rushing yards will likely keep Murray out of the top-20 quarterbacks this week, which includes six quarterback on bye.
Murray did have opportunities for touchdown passes, missing Trey McBride in the end zone, who appeared to be open, and an incompletion to Marvin Harrison, which was challenged but ultimately ruled that he could not get a second foot down. Murray still has an elite ceiling, with four top-five weekly finishes on the season, but his floor will be hard to trust as managers make plans for the playoffs/make a playoff push in the next few weeks.
Running Back
James Conner: 7 Carries, 8 Yards | 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 41 Yards
The Cardinals passed on 71% of plays in the first half, causing James Conner to be a non-factor in the first half, touching the ball only five times for 11 yards. The Cardinals continued to go pass-heavy in the second half as they trailed by 10 points entering the fourth quarter, but Conner was able to semi-salvage his fantasy day with a few receptions and broken tackles for extra yards. In the past two games Conner has 41 yards rushing on 19 carries compared to the rookie Benson, who has 80 yards rushing on 14 carries. There’s no need to panic with Conner’s role just yet, especially with Conner dominating passing game usage, but there is some cause for concern regarding his recent inefficiency and tough upcoming matchups, which include these same Seahawks in week 14.
https://www.twitter.com/minakimes/status/1860842822196437192
Trey Benson: 4 Carries, 18 Yards
For the second straight week, Benson was more effective on the ground than Conner. However, the Cardinals’ rookie remains just a handcuff at this point. If Benson were ever to become the lead back, he would unlikely have a workhorse role due to his lack of passing game usage, as he’s only earned five targets all season.
Emari Demercado: 1 Carry, 14 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Trey McBride: 15 Targets, 12 Receptions, 133 Yards
McBride set a Cardinals franchise record for tight end receptions with 12, which also happened to be a career-high. The Cardinals’ star tight end also set career highs in targets (15) and yards after catch (76). McBride accounted for 47% of Murray’s passing yards, getting open with ease all afternoon. According to Next Gen Stats, McBride had 3+ yards of separation on 10 of his receptions. Entering Sunday Night Football, McBride is the TE1 on the week but could have had an even bigger day if Murray was able to hit him in the end zone where he was open. Murray missing McBride in the end zone has been an issue all season, and it’s comical at this point that McBride does not have a touchdown. He’s on pace to set the single-season record for most receptions (86) and receiving yards 963) without a receiving touchdown. If McBride can find the end zone down the stretch, he should be the TE1 for the rest of the season.
https://twitter.com/NextGenStats/status/1860852632564432954
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 47 Yards
Maserati Marv took a back seat to McBride versus the Seahawks and was only targeted once in the second half. It was another disappointing fantasy performance in what has been a roller coaster fantasy season for the rookie wide receiver, who has either been a top-26 wide receiver in 50% of his healthy games or outside the top-42 wide receivers in the other 50%. Harrison didn’t necessarily play poorly, Murray just did not seem to look his way, instead opting for his tight end while facing intense pressure for much of the game. One of Harrison’s incompletions was a near highlight-reel touchdown, making an incredible catch with his right foot hitting the ground and his left hit the pylon. The Cardinals challenged the call but lost. Had the call been reversed, Marvin Harrison would be a top-15 wide receiver entering Sunday Night Football. It truly is a game of inches.
https://twitter.com/AryePulli/status/1860809574497853613
Michael Wilson: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 54 Yards
Michael Wilson was the second-leading receiver for the Cardinals and had the highlight of the game, making a clutch catch that would make Willie Mays proud. Wilson has shown flashes of potential, but there is rarely enough passing volume to support two pass-catchers in this offense, let alone three.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1860833408911393099
Greg Dortch: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 5 Yards
Seattle Seahawks
Quarterback
Geno Smith: 22/31, 254 Yards, TD, INT | 3 Carries, 2 Yards
This was one of Smith’s worst fantasy performances of the season, currently QB16 entering Sunday Night Football. The Cardinals had plenty of success with the blitz, bringing pressure from multiple angles to collapse the pocket, causing problems for Smith, especially in the first half. While it wasn’t a great fantasy day for Geno, he was able to get the ball in the hands of his biggest playmakers when it counted. Towards the end of the first half, he connected with Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a middle screen for 46 yards, which set up the game’s only offensive touchdown, and the biggest play of the night came on a third-and-eight with six minutes left, where Smith escaped a sack and threw a dart on the run to DK Metcalf for 18 yards. Surrounded by fantastic weapons, Smith should continue to be a high-end QB2 rest-of-season.
https://twitter.com/hawkmania4/status/1860837991717187877
Running Back
Kenneth Walker: 16 Carries, 41 Yards | 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 52 Yards
Kenneth Walker failed to score more than 14 fantasy points for the fourth game in a row but he continues to receive workhorse usage. His 19.4% target share today was his best since Week 5 and he received 77% of the backfield touches including 100% of the backfield targets. Zach Charbonnet received both goal-line carries but it is worth noting that Walker was poked in the eye on the same drive Charbonnet received those carries. Walker also appeared to injure his hip on the last drive of the second quarter, but he started the second half. Walker passed the eye test, earning positive yardage on numerous runs that could have easily lost yardage, while making an impact in the receiving game, including a highlight reel hurdle. He now has 36 receptions on the season, already surpassing his career high of 29 last season. This usage will keep him in the RB1 conversation going forward.
https://twitter.com/Seahawks/status/1860830339800703476
Zach Charbonnet: 6 Carries, 22 Yards
Charbonnet continues to be just a handcuff to Walker or a touchdown-dependent desperation option for fantasy managers. He had two goal line carries versus the Cardinals, one was a three yard gain from the four yard line, with the next play being a two-yard loss.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 77 Yards, TD
The JSN breakout season continues, with the sophomore’s third straight 20 point (19.7) performance. Smith-Njigba has earned more targets and accumulated more receiving yards than Metcalf in each of the last two weeks, while also scoring a touchdown this week compared to no touchdowns for Metcalf over the same period. Both offenses were anemic in the first half, until Smith-Njigba took a middle slot pass 46 yards down to the five yard line. He finished the drive three plays later scoring on a quick out where he was the first-read option. Since Week 9, Smith-Njigba has been one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and is a must-start going forward in your fantasy lineups.
https://twitter.com/StevePalazzolo_/status/1860863784933298663
DK Metcalf: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 59 Yards
DK Metcalf’s five targets in Week 12 were his fewest since Week 1 and he’s caught four or less passes in six out of nine games this season. Metcalf is no longer the unquestioned WR1 in this offense. In their nine games together, Metcalf has 75 targets versus 74 for Smith-Njigba but since returning from his MCL sprain in Week 11, he has 14 targets versus 18 for Smith-Njigba. Metcalf is too talented to stay quiet this long and should still be considered a WR2 going forward.
Tyler Lockett: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards
Tyler Lockett did not receive his first target until the opening drive of the third quarter. He is clearly the WR3 on this team which has led to a reduction in usage, receiving four or fewer targets in every game since Week 4. Fantasy managers were blessed with six straight WR3 or better seasons from the Seahawks’ veteran, but the torch has officially been passed to Smith-Njigba.
AJ Barner: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 19 Yards
AJ Barner continues to operate as the TE1 with Noah Fant out with injury.