The Lookaround: Arizona FINALLY loses their first game

The Los Angeles Rams destroyed the Houston Texans earlier this afternoon in a 38-22 performance. Other NFC West action from this weekend included the Cardinals dropping a close matchup against the shorthanded Packers, the 49ers slipping past Justin Fields and the Bears and the Seahawks cruising past the Jaguars.

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*Thank Goodness It’s Football

CARDINALS ARE LOSERS FOR ONCE! (PRAISE THE LORD!!)

It took eight weeks to happen but the Arizona Cardinals have finally lost a game this season. Too bad it didn’t occur against the Rams because then they’d hold the tiebreaker but a loss is a loss. The way short-handed Green Bay Packers were able to hold on to a 24-21 win complements of cornerback Rasul Douglas:

I should’ve alerted any Seahawks fans reading this based on its similarities to their Super Bowl-losing goal-line interception. If I triggered any PTSD for any of you, shift your blame to Pete Carroll for his stupid decision to pass it in the first place.

Anyways, Kyler Murray had easily his worst game of his MVP-caliber season. Murray was 22-of-33 for 274 yards with no touchdowns, two picks and a 67.0 passer rating. The Packers limited his rushing abilities as well by holding him to 22 yards off four carries.

DeAndre Hopkins led the Cardinals in receiving yards with 66 yards on two catches before being becoming a benchwarmer due to lingering hamstring issues. Hopkins got into hot water with Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury after going against his coach’s wishes by checking himself back into the game. The decision by Hopkins didn’t sit well with Kingsbury:

“We wanted him to stay off the field but he’d just run on,” Kingsbury said via ESPN. “He wants to play, super competitive and made some plays there, and we just want him to be smart, but he was definitely hurting.”

In Hopkins’ limited snaps (13 in total), he gave the Redbirds a huge boost as the team averaged 10.9 yards per play when he played versus 4.6 yards per play when he didn’t. Either way, it was a tough loss but Arizona is still a great team regardless. They should still be an NFC favorite as they’re still a quality unit. The Packers just had the perfect game plan to defeat them.

Next Week: The Cardinals will travel to San Francisco to play the 49ers in a game they hope will be another step towards their goal of fighting for the Lombardi Trophy. The Packers game was a bad loss for them, but I don’t see it becoming a sign of concerning things to come as long as the injuries don’t mount much more on them.

49ers slip past the Bad News Bears in the Windy City

The San Francisco 49ers were able to light up the scoreboard to run the Chicago Bears off the Fields in a 33-22 victory. Despite all the heat on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for the majority of this season, he put together quite an effective performance. Garoppolo went 17-of-28 for 322 yards and a 100.6 passer rating.

Even though Jimmy G didn’t throw any touchdowns, he had two rushing scores and was still operating Shanahan’s offense to perfection, something I hadn’t written for a while now. The Niners leading pass catcher was Deebo Samuel who had another monster game with six receptions for 171 yards and this 83-yard scamper:

Samuel has had a major breakout campaign and with his huge game against Chicago, he passed a franchise legend in the process:

Rookie running back Elijah Mitchell continues to make his mark as the top back on the roster after rushing 18 times for 137 yards, his third 100-yard game in five career games. His touchdown made him look like the Bay Area equivalent of prime Marshawn Lynch:

Next Week: The 49ers will host the Arizona Cardinals who will surely be looking for revenge after their first loss.

Seahawks grind out a strong win over Urban Meyer and Jags

The Jacksonville Jaguars apparently need to play in London from now on to have a chance at another win considering they were far from one against Seattle. Jacksonville was dominated 31-7 against the Hawks which would make anyone wonder how much worse the result would be with Russell Wilson under center.

One week after appearing so offensively challenged against the Saints, Seattle put together their most efficient outing since Wilson went down. Geno Smith went 20-of-24 for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Both his touchdown passes went to receiver DK Metcalf who channeled Randy Moss on his first snag:

Metcalf finished with six receptions for 43 yards including the two scores. The Seahawks leading pass catcher was Tyler Lockett who had 12 catches for 142 yards. His big day marked his 13th career 100-yard receiving day. Lockett’s catch off a trick play in the third quarter set up Metcalf’s second score of the day:

Flipping to the defensive side of the ball, safety Quandre Diggs recorded his third interception of the season early in the second quarter off rookie Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence:

Diggs’ big defensive play placed him in some interesting NFL history lore (at least within the last five seasons).

Next Week: The Seahawks have their bye week before traveling to Green Bay to take on the Packers. Russell might wait a week before coming back considering Lambeau Field is his house of horrors.