Seattle Seahawks: Studs and duds vs. Cardinals in Week 16

The Seattle Seahawks fell back into the fifth seed in the NFC with a letdown 27-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

One week after watching Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers lose a critical game to the lowly Atlanta Falcons, the Seattle Seahawks made the same mistake against the Arizona Cardinals.

Entering Week 16, the Seahawks held the keys to the NFC West and were in place for a first-round bye in the playoffs. However, the team came out flat-footed against the Cardinals and lost in stunning fashion at CenturyLink Field.

The loss sends Seattle back to the fifth seed, and San Francisco momentarily reclaims the division crown. Who really wins the NFC West will be decided in Week 17, when the Seahawks and 49ers clash in one of the few meaningful regular season finales. The winner of the Week 10 rematch will likely get a first-round bye while the other’s path to the Super Bowl will become drastically more difficult.

Before looking ahead to next week, we need to discuss what went wrong against the Cardinals this week. The game was fairly one-sided, so there will be four duds and only two studs this week.

Dud: Anyone who tried to block Chandler Jones

With Terrell Suggs no longer on the roster, the Cardinals entered Sunday’s contest with one player on their roster who had more than five sacks this season. That was Jones, who already boasted 15 sacks before the game. Yet, the Seahawks failed to stop Jones all game, and he exploded for his second four-sack game of the season.

Jones is a well-known sack artist in NFL circles. While casual fans may not pay close attention to one of Arizona’s few defensive bright spots, educated fans know how dominant Jones can be. Since entering the NFL in 2012, Jones registered 96 sacks. That’s equivalent to 12 sacks per season.

In recent years, Jones increased his production. The former Patriot was a First-Team All-Pro in 2017 when he led the league with 17 sacks. He tacked on another 13 sacks last season and is leading the NFL again this year with 19.

Seattle knew Jones was capable of destroying offenses entering the week. In Week 7 of this year, Jones posted a four-sack performance against the New York Giants. He replicated the feat against Seattle as the Duane Brown-less offensive line had no answer for the elite sack artist.

Dud: Tyler Lockett, WR

After a Pro Bowl-caliber start to his season, Lockett is struggling to find consistency. In Week 15, he exploded for eight receptions, 120 yards, and a touchdown. However, he posted just eight receptions for 107 yards and zero scores in the four weeks before Week 15. Sunday’s matchup was another off game for Seattle’s top wide receiver.

Russell Wilson and Lockett usually have an air-tight rapport. However, the two stars couldn’t connect on Sunday. Wilson targeted Locket eight times, and the receiver only hauled in one catch for 12 yards. It is Lockett’s second-lowest receiving yardage total of the season.

D.K. Metcalf wasn’t much help either. The blossoming rookie wide receiver didn’t even register a catch against Arizona’s atrocious secondary. Week 16 was Metcalf’s second poor showing against the Cardinals. Back in Week 4, he only made one catch for six yards on four targets against Kyler Murray‘s team.