Arizona
What Loss to Seahawks Means for Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals lost to the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 16-6 on Sunday. It was a poorly-played game, riddled with mistakes and penalties on both sides of the ball.
As I predicted earlier this week, much to the chagrin of Twitter/X, Arizona faced an unfavorable matchup in a tough road environment, and could not get the job done in a critical moment, despite a final score that gives the illusion of a close contest.
The Cardinals fall to 6-5, albeit not the worst position to be in, but will relinquish first place in the NFC West to the Seahawks, who are looking hotter by the week.
With playoff implications rolling out as the calendar nears December, here’s what the loss means for the Cardinals:
The Cardinals didn’t need to win to remain in playoff contention. With that said, it sure feels like Sunday’s loss might be setting an inauspicious tone for the rest of the season. On paper, Arizona has favorable matchups, but most (not this writer) probably assumed they had a favorable matchup coming into week 12.
With today’s loss, the Cardinals’ playoff chances drop to 40%. That in and of itself isn’t the worst number to see, but a win would’ve given them a 76% chance, with a temporary two-game lead in the division.
Now, Seattle holds the division. The 49ers aren’t coming to save the day, and no one truly knows what the Rams can and can’t do in 2024.
I also wrote this during the bye week: Arizona’s playoff hopes ride very heavily on the two matchups with Seattle. A loss at home in Week 14 would likely put this season on ice, unless they somehow win out all their other games.
After four straight wins, and coming off a bye week, it’s actually quite understandable to see a bit of a dud in this type of situation. What’s not acceptable is to do so against a division rival, with first place on the line.
Jonathan Gannon was swept out of the NFC West last season, again, understandably so with the roster he had. Prior to Sunday, he’d gone 2-0, blowing out the Rams at home and coming back to beat the 49ers in Santa Clara.
Those are both great wins, no doubt about it. Gannon, his coaches and his squad deserved the credit they got for doing so. But to truly succeed in this league, you have to be able to win games like Sunday’s in Seattle.
You have to be able to win the close, ugly, sloppy games against a tough opponent in a tough environment. It’s eat or be eaten in the NFC West, and a loss of this caliber is not encouraging as to their ability to play in critical moments down the stretch.
There are three NFC West matchups remaining, and the stakes will only get higher. 2-1 is the worst Arizona could go without sinking to the depths of the division, and they’ll need to play better in brighter lights.
Arizona’s defense played a very good game on Sunday. They allowed just 10 points, with six coming from a Seattle defensive score, picked off Geno Smith in a crucial down, and generated tons of pressure, including five sacks. The Seahawks only managed 285 yards of offense.
With that said, the Cardinals’ offense was the difference in the game – and not in a positive way. There were plenty of missed opportunities, some bad officiating and penalties that hurt them, and mental mistakes on everyone’s part, but Sunday’s loss was one of the most incompetent offensive games we’ve seen Arizona play.
Kyler Murray, who has been quietly playing elite football, was very poor. He threw for 285 yards, but was sacked five times, couldn’t break contain, and was inaccurate, with a costly pick-six in the third quarter.
He looked uncomfortable overall in the pocket, wouldn’t commit to running, and seemed to be in a twitchy state, leading to overthrows and poor decisions.
Part of that was on the poor offensive line play. Murray was pressured 14 times and was a mere 1-for-8 on those dropbacks. But game-breaking running back James Conner was also held to just eight yards on only seven carries. Arizona only ran the ball 14 times, despite never trailing by more than 10.
The Cardinals’ offense is run-first, and it seemed that they never attempted to establish it. When this unit becomes one-dimensional, bad things happen. Outside of a monster 133-yard (and zero-touchdown) day from Trey McBride, even the passing game looked pedestrian.
The Cardinals will face a tough opponent in the Minnesota Vikings next week, before the ultimate showdown rematch with Seattle the week after. If they can flush some of these issues, we’re in for some good, high-stakes football, but it’s hard to be optimistic after a showing like Sunday’s.
Believe it or not, the 2026 All-Star Game voting process has already begun, as of Wednesday. Fans who want to see their favorite members of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field in the midsummer classic this season can begin voting for their stars.
There are certainly some deserving players on this Diamondbacks club, which is currently 32-28 and occupying the third Wild Card sport in the National League.
Here’s how and where you can vote for your hometown heroes:
How to vote for Diamondbacks players to make All-Star Game
Fans can utilize the following link to vote for members of their team on dbacks.com. Fans are permitted to fill out and submit as many as five ballots per day, selecting as many or as few players as they choose.
This period of the fan vote constitutes Phase 1 of All-Star voting, which will run from Wednesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time (12:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Following Phase 1, the two overall top vote-getters will receive automatic berths into the All-Star lineups. If those two are not Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge once again, that would be an upset.
When and where is the 2026 All-Star Game?
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies in Philadelphia. All-Star week begins on June 10, with a full slate of activities, before the game is played on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. Arizona time).
The full schedule of events are as follows:
- Friday, July 10: HBCU Swingman Classic
- Saturday, July 11: 2026 MLB Draft
- Sunday, July 12: All-Star Sunday, MLB Futures Game, MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
- Monday, July 13: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, July 14: All-Star Red Carpet, All-Star Game
Which Diamondbacks are deserving All-Stars?
| Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
So, who should Diamondbacks fans vote for? Obviously, you may fill out the ballot however you choose. That can include a full roster of Diamondbacks, regardless of their stats or notoriety this season.
Still, here are some of the top performing D-backs who might have a leg up on an All-Star berth:
OF Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is having another All-Star worthy season. He’s hitting .289/.380/.545 with a .925 OPS and eight home runs, while playing good right field defense. He has the eighth-most bWAR (2.7) among position players, fifth-most in the National League, and third-most among all pure outfielders.
2B Ketel Marte
If Marte wins the NL second base fan vote, it will be his third straight season starting the All-Star game. Despite such a slow start to the year, that feels possible again. Marte is hitting .259/.315/.456 with 10 homers and is playing the best defense of his career.
3B Nolan Arenado
Nolan Arenado is quietly putting together one of his better seasons of the 2020s, slashing .269/.351/.467 with eight homers and flashing his elite third base glove at nearly as good a pace as ever. His name still carries a lot of weight in third base conversations; he’ll get some votes, no matter what.
1B Ildemaro Vargas
Vargas’ bat has cooled down quite a bit since his historic start to 2026. He’s still hitting a sturdy .290/.318/.454, but feels more likely to be considered as a reserve selection than a leading vote-getter.
Honorable Mention: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Pitchers are not selected by the fan vote. They are selected by player ballots and the All-Star Game managers. The National League’s manager will be Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, again.
The National League has quite a few talented pitchers, but Eduardo Rodriguez currently holds the fifth-best starting pitcher ERA (2.24) among NL hurlers. It’s going to be difficult to dethrone Christopher Sanchez or Jacob Misiorowski, but Rodriguez could find his way into the pitching pool, especially after his WBC heroics for Team Venezuela.
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Arizona State has added Michael White to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. White will join the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I am incredibly honored to return to my home state and join this elite program,” White said. “I’m proud to say that I am coming home. I can’t thank Coach Herbie enough for the opportunity to join his incredible staff and help these young athletes grow and develop into the best individuals they can be. There are so many friends and mentors who have left their mark on this program, and I’m excited for the opportunity to leave mine and help take this program to new heights. Go Devils!”
White arrives with the Sun Devils after most recently spending the last three seasons with Alabama as an assistant. The Alabama women finished 11th at the 2026 NCAA Championships while the men were 24th.
Prior to arriving at Alabama, White spent the 2022-2023 season as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. He primarily coached the freestyle, breaststroke and distance groups for the Badgers. In addition to coaching the Badgers, he also was an assistant senior coach with the Madison Aquatics Club for the year. He began his coaching career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania as a volunteer assistant from 2019-2021.
White spent his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure in New York. There he was a 7x individual Atlantic-10 champion and swam to three school records as a senior with a 1:47.30 200 IM, 3:52.18 400 IM, and a 1:47.70 200 fly. He also was team captain for two season and helped the team capture the 2014 A-10 team title.
The Scottsdale, Arizona native will return to his home state. He was a 2012 AIA Division I state champion in the 100 breast and 200 IM as a senior for Dobson High School.
White joins the coaching staff led by head coach Herbie Behm, who is already known to be an innovative coach. Behm spoke of White’s innovation as well saying, “Mike is one of the best young coaches in the NCAA. His interview blew me away with the innovative ideas he presented. I can’t wait to start implementing those ideas and continue our growth at ASU.”
Arizona State swept the 2026 Big 12 team titles, and the men went on to finish 4th at 2026 NCAAs while the women were 37th. Rising senior Ilya Kharun captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly with a 1:37.66.
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