Seattle improves to 2-0 and makes history against their division rivals along the way.
The Seattle Seahawks can remain confident in Drew Lock as the starting quarterback after Sam Darnold's injury in Week 1.
Why? Because he knows to throw the football to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Lock tossed three touchdown passes to the new highest-paid wide receiver in football in a 31-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals on the road in Week 2.
Smith-Njigba had nine receptions for 155 yards in total. He now has 277 yards and four touchdowns on the early season, putting him on an even more dominant pace than his Offensive Player of the Year campaign from last season.
Lock was effective and efficient, completing 19 of 26 passes for 235 yards and no interceptions for a passer rating of 139.1.
READ MORE: 'Optimistic' Sam Darnold Injury Update
Just five plays into the season, Lock, a former second-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos in 2019 and a second-year Seahawk, came on after Darnold injured his glute to lead the defending Super Bowl champs into a season-opening win in Week 1.
Sunday, Lock made his 29th career start and helped the Seahawks keep things rolling by beating a scrappy Cardinals team that impressed in Week 1 with a double-digit win over the LA Chargers.
Lock is now 11-18 as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
He wasted no time getting the offense going by keying in on his top target. Smith-Njigba broke free from veteran Cardinals safety Budda Baker, and Lock hit him in stride for an 82-yard touchdown on the Seahawks' second play from scrimmage.
Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett found All-Pro tight end Trey McBride for a two-yard touchdown to tie the game at the beginning of the second quarter.
Both teams combined for seven punts and were knotted at 7-7 at halftime.
Just before the end of the first half, the Seahawks missed an opportunity to come away with points after a rare long drive. The Arizona defense stood tall on 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line as running back Emmanuel Wilson's handoff was stuffed for a loss of a yard and a turnover on downs.
The Seahawks knew where to turn to kickstart the offense. Seattle began the second half the same way they did the first, as Lock found Smith-Njigba for a seven-yard touchdown to take a 14-7 lead on the first series of the third quarter.
Seattle came away with its first takeaway of the game three plays later; Brissett's pass intended for Michael Wilson was intercepted by Julian Love. The Seahawks padded the lead with a 33-yard field goal by Jason Myers before the Cardinals ran out of fight.
Smith-Njigba's third touchdown of the game came on a 12-yard reception that ended a 12-play, 80-yard drive. The Seahawks put together an even more demoralizing final drive when AJ Barner's one-yard touchdown run capped a 16-play series for the final score of the game.
The win continues Seattle's dominance over its NFC West rivals over the last half-decade, especially on the road. The Seahawks have won their last 10 games over the Cardinals and are now 10-1-1 at State Farm Stadium since 2016.
An even larger bit of history was on the side of Seattle. Sunday produced the franchise's 12th consecutive win overall, including the playoffs, to establish a new franchise record. The previous record was set in 2005 and stood for more than two decades, despite the Seahawks winning two championships in that span.
The 12s will be feeling like a third is within grasp, as well, if the Seahawks' offense continues going through Smith-Njigba like it has through two weeks.
Up next
Seattle travels to the Washington Commanders, who lost quarterback Jayden Daniels with what appears to be a serious dislocated elbow injury to end the first half of Week 2's game at the Dallas Cowboys.
Arizona plays at the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3.
