The Arizona Cardinals' moribund offense did the unthinkable entering Sunday: Make a struggling Seahawks defense look like the '85 Bears.
Kyler Murray and the Cards marched down for an opening-drive field goal and were moving it again on the second possession before coming up short on fourth down from the 20-yard line. Then the offense went in the tank en route to a 19-9 loss.
Arizona earned just one first down the rest of the first half, and throughout the game went 1-of-5 on fourth downs and 0-of-2 in the red zone, netted just 315 yards and never found the end zone -- the only touchdown came on a blocked punt. The struggles happened against a Seahawks defense that had allowed 37 points per game the past three weeks.
"Probably rookie year, that's probably the last time (expletive) has felt this hard," Murray said of the offense, . "We just feel it's tough out there right now. Tough. That's what it feels like. A lot of it it's self-inflicted, put it on ourselves. Gotta get better."
Murray pointed to negative plays -- he took six sacks and lost one of two fumbles on the afternoon -- as a reason for the struggles. The Cards clearly didn't trust replacement kicker Matt Ammendola, which led to more fourth-down tries than normal.
"We just can't finish," Murray said, . "Can't finish. That's the moral of the story right now is not finishing drives, not putting the ball in the end zone. Can't win like that."
It's the second game in 2022 that the Cardinals didn't have an offensive touchdown. The Indianapolis Colts are the only other team with multiple no-offensive TD games this season.
"No, not yet since I've been a coach," head coach Kliff Kingsbury said of the offensive struggles. "Just not being able to find rhythm as an offense, new to me. So, we're going to continue to work at it. Personnel-wise, see how we can move things around, and scheme-wise, see how we get better because it's a six-game view and it hasn't been good enough."
The Cardinals hope that DeAndre Hopkins' return this week from a six-game suspension can immediately help turn the club around. The star wideout has been the keystone for the Arizona offense in the past. Kingsbury and Murray hope his return will spearhead a more consistent offense, beginning on Thursday night against the New Orleans Saints.
