3 Takeaways from Cardinals' Week 11 Loss

As recently as Oct. 25, the Arizona Cardinals rallied from behind to force overtime in a win over the Seattle Seahawks. On Thursday, they weren't successful in doing so.

The Cardinals lost to the Seahawks 28-21 at Lumen Field in Seattle, as they turned over the ball on downs at the Seahawks' 27-yard line in the final minute while trying to drive down the field for a game-tying touchdown. It was a much different outcome than Week 7's, when Arizona won 37-34 in OT in the first meeting between the NFC West rivals this season.

Since their Week 8 bye, the Cardinals have lost two of their three games. And their only win during that stretch required an incredible Hail Mary touchdown pass from Kyler Murray to DeAndre Hopkins in the final seconds of their Week 10 game against the Buffalo Bills.

Arizona couldn't carry over that momentum to Thursday in a short week, instead falling to 6-4 with its first divisional loss of the season.

Here are three takeaways from the Cardinals' loss Thursday night.

Mistakes Led to Down Night for Offense

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The Cardinals offense looked nothing like the unit that entered Thursday leading the NFL in rushing, which had helped the team score at least 30 points in each of its previous five games. Instead, they had only 314 total yards, which included a season-low 57 yards on the ground.

Yet Arizona remained in the game late. But its mistakes proved too costly to overcome.

The offense committed eight penalties, which included an intentional grounding by Murray that pushed them back to their own 2-yard line while trailing 23-21 with a little more than 9 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. On the next play, guard J.R. Sweezy received a holding call in the end zone for a Seahawks safety that pushed their lead to 25-21.

Seattle went on to orchestrate a 12-play drive that ate up six minutes, 53 seconds and ended with a 41-yard field goal by Jason Myers to push its lead to seven.

"We started off slow and kept shooting ourselves in the foot," Murray said, per Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. "Obviously, they won the game, but we can play a lot better."

It may not have helped that Murray hurt his right shoulder in the first quarter and was playing through the injury. However, he said he was feeling good after the game. As long as that's the case, Arizona's offense should get back on track in the coming weeks.

Rookie Simmons Shines in Expanded Role

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Earlier in the week, Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph indicated that rookie linebacker Isaiah Simmons was going to have an expanded role after he had only 20 tackles in limited action through the first nine games of his NFL career. Simmons was on the field more Thursday, and he represented one of Arizona's bright spots from the contest.

Simmons had a team-high 10 tackles and also collected his first career sack, taking down Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson for a 6-yard loss on a 3rd-and-2 play in the first quarter. It wasn't the first big play Simmons has made against the Seahawks this season, as he notched his first career interception in the Cardinals' Week 7 win.

Of Simmons' 10 tackles, nine were solo, showcasing why Arizona selected him with the No. 8 overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft.

"I'll have to watch the film, but I definitely saw him flash," Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said, per Kyle Odegard of the team website. "I felt like he was out there making plays."

That's exactly what Simmons did the previous three seasons at Clemson, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him keep doing that throughout the rest of his rookie campaign. It's clear that Simmons was ready for the increased opportunities, which should provide a boost to Arizona's defense down the stretch.

Anything Can Still Happen in NFC West Race

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The Seahawks took back sole possession of first place in the NFC West with the win, improving to 7-3. But it's still a wide-open race for the division, and the Cardinals aren't out of contention despite this loss.

Like the teams in action Thursday did, the Los Angeles Rams enter Week 11 at 6-3. They have a challenging road contest against the 7-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. But Los Angeles is coming off a win over Seattle, which was its first divisional win of the year.

The Cardinals split their regular-season series with the Seahawks, and they also own a win over the San Francisco 49ers. They have two games coming up against the Rams (Weeks 13 and 17) and another matchup against the 49ers at home in Week 16.

First, Arizona will have to try to get back on track in Week 12 when it goes on the road again to take on the New England Patriots. It could be a tough game, but the Cardinals have already proved they can beat quality teams this season, and they will have extra time to prepare following this short week.

If Arizona can re-establish some momentum heading into the final month of the regular season, perhaps it can stay competitive and win its first NFC West title since 2015.