Cardinals will test-drive newfound confidence vs defending champ Seahawks

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Trey McBride is in his fifth season with the Arizona Cardinals and has never been part of a win over the Seattle Seahawks, an NFC West rival and the defending Super Bowl champions.

Eight games. Eight losses.

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But the All-Pro tight end is feeling pretty good these days, particularly after the Cardinals looked much better than expected in a 26-14 road win over the Los Angeles Chargers that was one of the NFL’s biggest Week 1 surprises.

“You want to play against the best, you want to go against the best,” McBride said. “What a better challenge than this week? Why not do it against the best? Let’s see what we’ve got.”

The Cardinals (1-0) host the Seahawks (1-0) on Sunday in a litmus test for the new-look franchise. First-year coach Mike LaFleur became the first non-interim coach to win his first game as coach of the Cardinals since Don Coryell did it in 1973.

LaFleur was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams — who are also in the NFC West — the past three seasons and is well aware of what he’s going to encounter this weekend, particularly when it comes to the Seahawks’ defense.

Seattle had another brilliant defensive performance in a 13-10 win over New England in Week 1.

“There’s no weakness, whatsoever,” LaFleur said. “It’s a player-driven league, but you’d be messed up not to say how well they are coached, too. It’s 11 guys working in unison that just understand what’s going on. They have great players (and) they’ve got great coaches. They’re fundamentally sound. They’re violent. The tape speaks for itself.”

The Seahawks will start backup quarterback Drew Lock on Sunday after starter Sam Darnold was ruled out because of an injury he suffered against the Patriots. Lock played most of the game against the Patriots after Darnold was injured on the opening series, completing 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown.

The 29-year-old Lock has a 10-18 record as a starter.

“He’s a great guy, he’s got his own personality, which we love,” Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said. “He’s got his style of playing quarterback, which is what we want here. We want to be within the scheme and how we’re training our guys, but you have to be yourself, too.

“Drew is that and we’re looking forward to it.”

Matchup to watch

Seattle WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs. the Cardinals’ secondary. Smith-Njigba was a force in the Seahawks’ season-opening win, with 122 yards receiving and a touchdown on eight catches. The reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year picked up right where he left off after having an NFL-high 1,793 yards receiving last season. Now he’ll go against a Cardinals secondary that was stingy in Week 1 against Chargers QB Justin Herbert, holding him to 209 yards passing. Veteran safety Budda Baker leads a young group.

Stats and stuff

— Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett has thrown for at least 200 yards and a touchdown in 13 straight games, which is the longest current streak in the NFL. No other QB has a current streak longer than five games.

— Cardinals RB Jeremiyah Love has scored a rushing TD in 12 straight games, including his first with the Cardinals last week and the last 11 games during his college career at Notre Dame.

— WR Kendrick Bourne had eight catches for 85 yards in his Cardinals debut last week. Only DeAndre Hopkins (14 catches in 2020) and Anquan Boldin (10 in 2003) had more receptions in their franchise debut.

— The Seahawks have won 11 straight games, including the playoffs, dating to last season. That’s tied for the longest streak in franchise history, which was set in 2005.

— Seattle has won 13 of 16 in the series against the Cardinals dating to 2018.

— Seattle’s defense has held its opponent to less than 20 points in eight of its last 11 games, including the playoffs.

AP Sports Writer Anne Peterson contributed to this story.

Seattle Seahawks news and more

• There’s reason for optimism about Drew Lock as Seahawks QB
• Daniel Jeremiah: Seattle Seahawks’ defense looks even better
• The Rams’ depth is ‘not close’ to the Seattle Seahawks

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