Barner scores twice as Seahawks defeat Cardinals 17-3
Backup quarterback Drew Lock led Seattle to a win over Arizona, snapping a losing streak against the Cardinals.
By Giulia Marshall ·
AJ Barner scored two touchdowns for the Seattle Seahawks in a 17-3 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The win came without starting quarterback Sam Darnold, who is injured.
Backup quarterback Drew Lock completed 19 of 28 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks improved to 5-4 after a 34-17 loss to the Chicago Bears the previous week.
Barner, a tight end, recorded his first two touchdowns of the season. He ran for a one-yard score in the second quarter and caught a seven-yard pass for a touchdown later in the game. The catch was upheld after a replay review.
“They called it a catch on the field. They reviewed them. They called it a catch. So it’ll live on as a catch forever,” Barner said. He finished the game with two receptions for seven yards and three carries for three yards.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught seven passes for 51 yards. This performance gave him 1,036 receiving yards for the season. He is the third player in franchise history to record three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, joining Steve Largent and Tyler Lockett. Smith-Njigba is also the first NFL receiver to reach 1,000 yards this year.
Gardner Minshew started at quarterback for the Cardinals after replacing Jacoby Brissett. Minshew completed 21 of 30 passes for 166 yards. The Cardinals fell to 3-6, losing their 11th consecutive game to Seattle.
“We were a little bit off one way or another on a lot of our plays, and against a good team like that, you’re not going to have that many chances,” Minshew said. Darnold left the game against the Bears with a quad injury and later cracked a rib. Coach Mike Macdonald said Lock suffered an oblique injury during the game but characterized it as “not too bad.”
Seattle extended its lead to 17-3 with a 45-yard field goal by Jason Myers in the third quarter. The team stopped a fourth-down pass attempt by Minshew in the final quarter to secure the win. The Seahawks will host the Las Vegas Raiders next Sunday, while the Cardinals face the Los Angeles Chargers.
