This article is part of our NFL Observations series.
That was an annoying watch. Kliff Kingsbury punting on 4th-and-3 before the half resulted in a Seattle field goal, and a beyond-terrible taunting call giving the Seahawks a key first down on a TD drive in the second half. (First thing I'd do as NFL Commish is abolish the taunting rule and make a new one that any owner who proposes a taunting rule gets executed and the team reverts to ownership by my dog.)
- I don't have numbers for this, but I read somewhere when teams play a second time, the under is the bet. Familiarity not only breeds contempt, it also breeds unders.
- Kyler Murray played okay, but couldn't get loose as a runner, which slowed his historic season-long fantasy pace despite 269 passing yards and two TDs. He made a terrible play to get a legitimate intentional grounding call that ultimately led to a safety too.
- Kenyan Drake (11-29-1, 5-4-31) looked healthy, but didn't have much room to run. Chase Edmonds (2-13-0, 4-4-36-1) was used mostly as a receiver and did a poor job as a return man.
- Larry Fitzgerald (10-8-62), DeAndre Hopkins (8-5-51) and Christian Kirk (6-4-50) saw targets, but couldn't break any big plays against a historically terrible Seattle pass defense.
- Russell Wilson played a clean game, but had only 197 passing yards, not including a long PI that set up the FG at the end of the first half. He also ran for 42 yards.
- Carlos Hyde (14-79-1, 3-2-16) and Bo Scarbrough (6-31-0) were effective and helped keep the Cardinals away from Wilson after a sack on the first play from scrimmage.
- As usual, Tyler Lockett (9-9-67-1) and DK Metcalf (5-3-46-1) were the only receivers of note. Metcalf had a drop and the PI drawn too.
- While the taunting call, and Kingsbury's cowardice were gifts, credit the Seahawks for making the necessary adjustments on defense and mixing in more running plays to keep Wilson in better down-and-distance and from taking big hits.
