Five plays, then a season changes shape
Sam Darnold went down on the fifth snap from scrimmage of Seattle’s opener. The Seahawks still beat New England 13-10 in the Super Bowl LX rematch on September 9, but their quarterback will not be in Glendale on Sunday. The club describes the problem as a “very unique, soft tissue” glute injury. There is no timetable, and Darnold has not been placed on injured reserve.
Drew Lock takes the job. Jalen Milroe backs him up. Lock came off the bench in Week 1 and went 16 of 22 for 187 yards and a touchdown, including a 45-yard strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on fourth-and-1 that helped turn a 10-point deficit into a win. This will be his first start since his time with the New York Giants in 2024.
“Drew’s a proven, really good player in this league, and when he’s started, he’s played really good football,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “He’s a heck of a guy, heck of a teammate. He’s got a great balance about him of being like a true professional, but also he’s a loose and focused guy.”
The defence did the rest that night. Seattle intercepted Drake Maye three times in the fourth quarter, the last by Josh Jobe in the end zone with New England already in field-goal range.
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Arizona are not the team they were last year
The Cardinals went 3-14 last season. They opened this one by beating the Chargers 26-14 in Inglewood as nine-and-a-half-point underdogs, handing Mike LaFleur a win in his head-coaching debut. Jacoby Brissett completed 27 of 37 for 277 yards and a touchdown.
“We’re not dumb, it’s not that we don’t hear the noise,” LaFleur said. “We just ignore the noise, be above the noise.”
The former Rams coordinator knows what arrives on Sunday. “Everything, there’s just no weakness whatsoever,” he said of the Seattle defence. “They have great players and great coaches. They’re fundamentally sound. They’re violent. The tape speaks for itself.”
Two Notre Dame backs, one afternoon
Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price were teammates in South Bend and were the only running backs taken in the first round of this year’s draft. Love went third overall to Arizona and opened with 11 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown plus two catches. Price went 32nd to Seattle and had 10 carries for 52 yards.
Safety Ty Okada missed Wednesday’s practice with a hamstring problem. Offensive linemen Anthony Bradford and Josh Jones, receiver Cooper Kupp and safety Nick Emmanwori were all limited. Arizona held out lineman Isaac Seumalo with a shoulder injury and limited seven others, including cornerback Garrett Williams.
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