GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Seattle Seahawks might get Sam Darnold back from his glute injury sooner than they initially expected. Coach Mike Macdonald said postgame Sunday that the quarterback's timetable has "shifted quite drastically" for the better.
Darnold could return to practice sometime this week, and after the Seahawks improved to 2-0 with a 31-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium, Macdonald didn't rule out Seattle's QB1 possibly playing next Sunday against the Washington Commanders (0-2).
Though Drew Lock's hot start to the season could give the Seahawks reason to take their time with Darnold, Macdonald insisted that the decision will be based on his readiness.
"If Sam can play, he's going to play," Macdonald said. "If Sam can't play, then Drew will play. It's pretty simple."
In the meantime, Lock is playing starter-level football, and he's getting plenty of help from Jaxon Smith-Njigba as well as last season's top-ranked scoring defense. Lock threw three more touchdown passes to the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year on Sunday, and Macdonald's unit shut the door in the second half to turn a 7-7 score into a runaway victory.
In his first start since 2024, Lock completed 19 of 26 attempts for 235 yards and no interceptions. As he mostly did last week in helping rally the Seahawks to a season-opening win over the New England Patriots after Darnold went down on the game's fifth play, Lock kept the ball out of harm's way against Arizona, and he was sacked only once.
"Really proud of Drew, really happy for him," Macdonald said. "We're on the record in how we feel about him, so he just backed that up today. That's a 12 as one thing, everybody having each other's back. You just couldn't be happier for the guy. We just love him. All the things we said about him throughout the week, that was real. That was from the heart. Really proud of the way he played today. He did a tremendous job."
Lock's first touchdown pass to Smith-Njigba came on their second play from scrimmage, when the receiver used a head fake to get wide open behind Arizona's defense for an 82-yard score. They connected for a 7-yard touchdown in the third quarter and a 12-yarder in the fourth, both coming on third down.
Lock's lone touchdown pass in the opener was to Smith-Njigba.
"We've been having a special connection for a minute now, but I'm super happy [for] the way he just came in and carried himself and carried this team," Smith-Njigba said of Lock. "He shows time and time again how good he is."
Per ESPN Research, Smith-Njigba is the third player in franchise history with 150-plus receiving yards and three receiving TDs in a game, joining Tyler Lockett and Steve Largent (twice). Smith-Njigba now has an NFL-high 11 games with at least 100 receiving yards since the start of last season. He's the first Seahawk to catch three touchdown passes in a game since DK Metcalf in 2023.
"He's just a tremendous player," Macdonald said. "And talking about high-leverage situations, four-point plays. Both of those [second-half] touchdown catches helped put the game away. Tremendous plays by Drew as well. ... That's what we expect from Jax. That's how good he is."
After Arizona tied the score at 7-7 at the start of the second quarter, the Seahawks allowed just four more first downs, with one coming on the second-to-last play. They closed it out with a 16-play, 70-yard drive that took more than 10 minutes off the clock and ended with tight end AJ Barner scoring on a tush push.
With starting running back Jadarian Price leaving the game late in the third quarter because of a chest injury -- Macdonald said X-rays on Seattle's top pick were negative -- Emanuel Wilson had 10 carries for 48 yards on the final drive. He finished with 92 yards on 21 attempts.
The Seahawks outgained Arizona 381-151. Per ESPN Research, that was Seattle's best yardage differential in any game since the Seahawks outgained the New Orleans Saints by 249 yards in a 2019 loss.
This was the Seahawks' 12th straight win dating back to Week 12 of last season, and their 10th straight over the Cardinals.
"It felt really good," Lock said. "It was a complete game, I'd say, from both sides of the ball, special teams as well. Our defense is very good. Giving us the ball in some advantageous situations. ... Hats off to them for the way they played. Talk about the O-line for a sec. Holy cow. It's awesome playing behind those guys. They're an awesome group ... picked me up all week, talked me through everything all week. They were so fun to work with."
Lock also gave his close friend Darnold a shoutout for a midweek assist.
During a walkthrough Thursday, Lock felt himself "swimming a little bit" while trying to wrap his head around all of his responsibilities related to the blitzes they were expecting from Arizona. So, he asked Darnold to talk him through their protection plan, which Lock said helped "drastically."
"You would like to think that all quarterback rooms would do that, but Sam is a special breed of guy," Lock said. "It's been fun being with him. If he would have asked me that, I would have went up there and did the same thing. Now, flipping it and kind of allowing him to return that favor for me, it's been awesome. I really appreciate him for everything he's done."
