The Seattle Seahawks returned to winning ways on Sunday, beating the Arizona Cardinals 17-3 at Lumen Field in Seattle. The win moved Seattle to 5-4 for the season, while Arizona fell to 3-5.

Seattle had to win without several starters, including quarterback Sam Darnold, who was inactive for the game. Drew Lock started in his place and completed 19 of 28 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions. Lock was briefly checked in the medical tent late in the third quarter after appearing to favour his hip, having already been dealing with elbow tendinitis, but he returned to the game and did not miss a snap.

Tight end AJ Barner was the star of the Seattle attack. He scored both of the Seahawks' touchdowns, and he did it in two different ways. Early in the second quarter, on a direct snap, Barner ran one yard up the middle for a touchdown to give Seattle a 7-3 lead. Then, with 15 seconds left in the first half, he caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Lock to make it 14-3 at the break.

Barner touched the ball only four times in the first half, but two of those touches ended in the end zone. It was an efficient and timely display from a player who has become an important part of the Seattle offence.

Arizona had started the game well. The Cardinals moved the ball on their opening drive, with receiver Michael Wilson catching a 17-yard pass and running back Tyler Allgeier adding a 17-yard run, but the drive stalled in the red zone and Chad Ryland kicked a 28-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. Those were the only points Arizona managed all afternoon.

Seattle's defence held firm after that early score. The Cardinals went 1-for-6 on third down in the first half and managed only 110 yards of offence before the break. They punted four times in the first half, going three-and-out on three of those drives.

Jason Myers extended Seattle's lead to 17-3 early in the second half with a 45-yard field goal after an 11-play drive. From there, the Seahawks' defence did the rest, keeping Arizona out of the end zone for the whole game.

Arizona's best chance of a late comeback came in the fourth quarter, when a 14-play drive reached the Seattle two-yard line. Gardner Minshew, making his first start of the season for the Cardinals after Jacoby Brissett was benched and then traded during the week, scrambled to the two-yard line on second-and-goal. He could not connect with Michael Wilson in the end zone on third down, and his fourth-down pass to tight end Trey McBride was also incomplete after cornerback Devon Witherspoon defended the play.

Minshew had replaced Brissett in last week's 33-30 overtime win over the Cardinals' previous opponents, throwing three touchdown passes in a rally from 14 points down. Against Seattle, though, he found scoring far harder, and he also needed treatment after taking a hit to his throwing arm on the final play of the first half. He returned for the start of the third quarter.

Seattle also had a landmark moment for wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who passed 1,000 receiving yards for the season during the game. He caught seven passes for 51 yards in the first half alone and was a steady target for Lock throughout.

The Seahawks closed the game out in calm fashion. Zach Charbonnet rushed for 36 yards late on, and Barner's one-yard run gave Seattle a first down going into the two-minute warning. With Arizona out of timeouts, Seattle took three kneel-downs to complete the win.

The result keeps Seattle in the race in the NFC West and gives Lock a win as a stand-in starter. Arizona, meanwhile, will look to regroup after a game in which its offence managed only a single field goal despite a promising start.