Humbling loss to the Seahawks shows just how far the Cardinals have to go to compete in NFC West

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗
Toronto Star · collected 2026-09-22 · by David Brandt The Associated Press

Quick Summary

Arizona Cardinals suffered a significant 31-7 loss at home to the Seattle Seahawks, extending their home losing streak to eight games over more than 360 days. The Seahawks’ dominant second-half performance, highlighted by a 24-0 advantage, showcased their strength as defending Super Bowl champions. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett struggled with just 95 passing yards, his lowest total since starting in the NFL two seasons ago. Arizona’s first-year coach Mike LaFleur acknowledged the loss but emphasized a focus on improvement and responding positively to challenges.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-22, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On Sunday, September 20, the Seattle Seahawks faced the Arizona Cardinals in a Week 2 NFC West showdown at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The game saw Seattle's Drew Lock perform impressively after Sam Darnold was ruled out due to injury, throwing for 235 yards and three touchdowns to Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the Seahawks won 31-7. Despite a strong start by Arizona, who had stunned the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, they struggled in the second half, managing only 150 total yards and dropping their record to 1-1. The loss extended the Cardinals' losing streak against Seattle to an astonishing 10 games, dating back to 2022, highlighting the Seahawks’ dominance over their division rivals.

Written for “Seahawks vs Cardinals Game Updates” on 2026-10-04, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
35
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
3%
1 of 35 hedged
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Correction & hedging signals
63.3
corrections and hedging in what we collected; not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
5
Sports
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-09-22 · how these are computed

Story

📰 Seahawks vs Cardinals Game Updates
Sports · 5 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 3% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 6% hedged 1 of 16 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe the same NFL game between the Seahawks and Cardinals that took place on Sunday, September 20, 2026.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 23 📰 publisher trust 63
“Both articles describe the same specific NFL game where the Arizona Cardinals lost to the Seattle Seahawks with a score of 31-7.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 39 📰 publisher trust 63
“The articles describe different games: a win over the Los Angeles Chargers and a loss to the Seattle Seahawks.”
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 22 📰 publisher trust 64
“Article A describes the pre-game information and context for an upcoming game between the Seahawks and Cardinals, while Article B discusses a previous loss of the Cardinals to the Seahawks, indicating these are different specific events.”

Publisher

Toronto Star · 5172 article(s) · 17 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 17 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

David Brandt The Associated Press
15 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Arizona State has asked a former chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court to lead an independent review of the collapse of hockey player Matthew Mayich during an outdoor workout in August.
🔮 Sweat missed most of preseason camp while nursing a knee injury, so maybe it’s just a slow start, but the defense needs his 2025 version on the field.
🔮 The owner of the Phoenix Suns said Monday that will have “zero” effect on his spending habits when it comes to basketball.
🔮 Arizona Cardinals starting cornerback Will Johnson could miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a neck injury against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
🔮 “The league will humble you quick,” Wingard said.
🔮 It remains to be seen how much some of the game’s biggest stars will be able to participate come October, though.
🔮 The Cardinals (1-1) opened the season with an impressive 26-14 road win over the Chargers in first-year coach Mike LaFleur’s debut, but couldn’t recreate that success against the talented Seahawks defense.
🔮 Arizona RHP Corbin Burnes (0-0, 5.87 ERA) and Yankees RHP Will Warren (10-6, 3.89) start Sunday.
🔮 “Pavin Smith can hit,” Lovullo would say.
🔮 It remains to be seen if his body will allow that to happen.
Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
Also by David Brandt The Associated Press
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 15 articles by David Brandt The Associated Press →

Topics

Arizona Cardinals Seahawks Super Bowl the Seattle Seahawks

Subjects

Cardinals ORG · 8× Seahawks ORG · 7× Wingard PERSON · 5× Arizona GPE · 2× LaFleur PERSON · 2× McBride PERSON · 2× the Seattle Seahawks ORG · 2× TEMPE GPE · 1× the Los Angeles Chargers ORG · 1× these Arizona Cardinals ORG · 1×

Narrative

Key number 10 — The Cardinals have a 10-game losing streak against the Seahawks dating to 2022. Next steps The Cardinals have another tough NFC West game this weekend when they travel to face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22
🔮 “The league will humble you quick,” Wingard said.

Claims (35 extracted, 1 hedged)

An impressive season-opening win over the Los Angeles Chargers showed that these Arizona Cardinals have potential to be a much-improved football team. asserted
Cardinals → open → potential
The subsequent lopsided loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday showed just how far they have to go to reach that potential and compete in the loaded NFC West. asserted
they → show → West
Arizona’s home losing streak is now at eight games and more than 360 days after a 31-7 loss to the Seahawks, who are the defending Super Bowl champions and look like one of the early favorites again this season. asserted
who → defend → favorites
There’s certainly no shame in losing to Seattle, but the Seahawks’ 24-0 advantage in the second half, including a 16-play, 70-yard drive to close out the game, didn’t sit well with safety Andrew Wingard. asserted
advantage → ’ → Wingard
“The league will humble you quick,” Wingard said. asserted
Wingard → humble → you
“You think you’ve made it and then you go play the Seattle Seahawks and they give it to you. asserted
they → think → you
But I know we’ve got the right guys in the locker room. asserted
we → know → room
No one’s going to panic.” asserted
one → go → ?
First-year coach Mike LaFleur’s offense couldn’t get much going, particularly in the second half, gaining just 151 total yards. asserted
much → get → yards
Jacoby Brissett had just 95 passing yards, which was easily the lowest total among the 14 games he’s started over the last two seasons. asserted
he → have → seasons
Rookie running back Jeremiyah Love gained just 29 yards rushing on nine carries. asserted
Love → gain → carries
All-Pro tight end Trey McBride was mostly contained with eight catches for 41 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown. asserted
McBride → contain → touchdown
“It’s like I told the guys, the sun did come up today, believe it or not,” LaFleur said. asserted
LaFleur → ’ → it
“We’re not going to dwell on it and I’m not really concerned about us dwelling on it. asserted
us → go → it
I’m excited to see how we’ll respond.” asserted
we → ’m → ?
Wingard said the Cardinals learned some valuable lessons during film study on Monday. asserted
Cardinals → say → Monday
“You’ve got to battle, you’ve got to tackle, you’ve got to just find ways to win and create momentum. asserted
you → get → momentum
And we didn’t,” Wingard said. asserted
Wingard → do → ?
“But we’re 1-1. asserted
we → ’re → ?
What’s working The final result was ugly, but Wingard said it’s important for the Cardinals to remember they played well during the first half against the defending Super Bowl champs. asserted
they → work → champs
The teams were tied at 7-all heading into halftime, and the Cardinals defense had an impressive goal-line stand near the end of the second quarter. asserted
defense → tie → quarter
McBride was a problem for the Seahawks’ defense in the first half and his 2-yard touchdown catch tied the game. asserted
catch → tie → game
Things obviously changed in the second half, but the Cardinals know they have the potential to hang with one of the league’s best teams. asserted
they → change → teams
What needs help The Cardinals couldn’t get anything going in the vertical passing game, with most of Brissett’s completions being on short passes to McBride or Love. asserted
most → need → McBride
There’s certainly a time and place for a quarterback to use checkdown options, but without the threat of the deep ball, the Seahawks defense had one less thing to worry about. asserted
defense → ’ → thing
Stock up Arizona’s defense has been better than many expected. asserted
many → stock → ?
Safety Budda Baker and linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. have been productive while newcomers like Wingard and linebacker Jack Gibbens look like solid additions. asserted
newcomers → look → additions
The Cardinals struggled to contain Seahawks star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but there’s a reason he’s the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year. asserted
he → struggle → Year
Marvin Harrison Jr. was the No. 4 pick in the 2024 draft and widely seen as a can’t-miss prospect with a Hall of Fame bloodline and a stellar reel of highlights from his days at Ohio State. asserted
Jr. → see → State
But a disappointing start to his third season makes it easy to wonder if he’ll ever live up to the expectations. asserted
he → make → expectations
Harrison had no catches against the Seahawks and was targeted just one time Sunday. asserted
Harrison → have → Seahawks
That comes after the opener against the Chargers, when he had just one catch for 33 yards. asserted
he → come → yards
LaFleur said the Cardinals might have lost cornerback Will Johnson for the rest of the season because of a neck injury against the Seahawks. uncertain
Cardinals → say → Seahawks
Starling Thomas will likely see increased playing time in Johnson’s absence. asserted
Thomas → starle → absence
Key number 10 — The Cardinals have a 10-game losing streak against the Seahawks dating to 2022. Next steps The Cardinals have another tough NFC West game this weekend when they travel to face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. asserted
they → date → Sunday
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