But we here at ROTB never look at things simply, so strap in, and prepare yourself for quite possibly the shortest "positives" list in this website's history.
The Good
1) Kicking
Catanzaro seems to be back to his early season ways, as he nailed a FG from 27 yards out in the 1st quarter, as well as one from 32 yards out in the 3rd. These would be the only points from the Cardinals' end of things, but it's good to know that when all else fails, the rookie out of Clemson delivers.
The Bad
1) The Play-calling
I'd like to start this list off by calling out the coaching staff. When you're forced to start your 3rd string QB, it's probably a good idea to lean on your run-game. Given that the RBs were coming off two straight weeks of 140+ yards on the ground, most people predicted that the offense would be driven by recent pickup Kerynn Williams. That was not the case on Sunday. QB Ryan Lindley ended the day with 44 attempted passes. In case you missed that, I'll spell it out: Forty-four. Yes, the offensive line was missing Jonathan Cooper who has been great on run plays, and yes, the Seahawks defense is elite, but when there are whole drives of just Lindley passing the ball, Arians needs to take a step back and evaluate the game plan.
2) Ryan Lindley
I'm not going to spend too much time on this one. Lindley played about as well as I had predicted: He doesn't seem to have improved much since 2012. 18-44, 216 yards, 0 TDs, and one interception. It is what it is.
3) The offense in general
Having a QB that currently holds the record for most passes without a career touchdown definitely doesn't help, but overall, the offense was horrendous. Stephan Taylor led the RBs with 11 rushes for a dismal 19 yards, John Brown led the receivers with just 54 yards, and two FGs were all the team could put up.
3) Post 1st quarter Defense
The 1st quarter was great for the defense. The score was still 0-0 after the first 15 minutes, and QB Russell Wilson seemed to be contained. Then everything came crashing down. Here's a fun stat to sum up the game: Seattle set a franchise record for total yards at 596. The Seahawks' offense put up some crazy numbers against the vaunted Cardinals' defense. Wilson was 20-31 for 339 yards and two TDs, but what was most aggravating to me was how successful he was on the ground: 6 rushes for 88 yards and another score. RB Marshawn Lynch, out for the early part of the game due to a stomach problem, managed to rebound with 113 yards off 10 rushes for two TDs. While the offense did absolutely nothing, the defense seemed to give up early, resulting in the 29 point difference at the end of the game.
4) Pressuring Wilson
The last time the two teams played in Seattle earlier this season, the defense managed to sack Wilson seven times. On Sunday? Wilson was only brought down once, by Alex Okafor. This lack of success showed in Wilson's many scrambles.
5) Ted Ginn Jr.
It's hard to imagine a Cardinals' future that involves Ted Ginn Jr. on the team. He has been really disappointing this year returning kicks and punts, and just seems to make too many poor decisions, especially on kick returns.
6) Playoff picture
The Cardinals needed this win. It was a stretch from the start, but man, they needed this win. Seattle now leads the NFC West, and will very likely end the season with a 1st round bye and homefield throughout the Playoffs. The Cardinals, on the other hand, look to enter the post-season in just the Wildcard spot. This is not going to be good given their track record, and also given the amount of injuries they have sustained. They really needed that bye, they really needed that homefield advantage, and they weren't able to deliver. Such is football.