'TNF' takeaways: New kickoff rule burns Cardinals in another close loss

In an effort to increase the number of kickoff returns, as well as cutting down on injuries, the NFL has made significant changes to the kickoff rule over the past couple of years, including the requirement for kickoffs to land inside of the 20-yard line. Any kick that lands outside of that is treated the same as a kick out of bounds and gives the receiving team the ball at the 40-yard line. 

It played a major role in the outcome of this game. 

Mike MacDonald's defense is making Seahawks early season contender

In 2023, one year before they hired Mike Macdonald to be their head coach, the Seahawks had one of the NFL's worst defenses, ranking near the bottom of the league in yards against and points against. They had no identity, few playmakers and simply did not offer any resistance.

In 2024, in year one of Macdonald's tenure, they rapidly improved up to a middle-of-the pack defense, finishing 14th in yards against and 11th in points against. Nothing special, but considerable improvement.

This year's version looks even better and is bringing back memories of the Legion of Boom era that defined the Seahawks' back-to-back Super Bowl runs in 2013 and 2014. 

They are fast. They are physical. And through the first four games of the 2025 season, they are dominating their opponents. Following Thursday's game, they have allowed just 67 points in four games, averaging out to only 16.7 points against per game. They have not allowed more than 20 points in any one game. 

That sort of defense, combined with a strong running game, can win a lot of football games. So far it's won Seattle three out of four games.

Sam Darnold delivered again

The Seahawks rolled the dice by getting rid of Geno Smith and bringing in Darnold this offseason in the hopes it could upgrade the offense. The early returns are promising, with Darnold delivering again on Thursday. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 242 yards (9.3 yards per pass attempt), threw a touchdown, ran for 24 yards and did not turn the ball over. He also made some huge throws in the fourth quarter and led the game-winning drive in the closing seconds. 

Another brutal loss for Cardinals

After starting the season with back-to-back wins, the Cardinals have now dropped each of their past two games in pretty brutal fashion, losing both of them on walk-off field goals as time expired. Even worse, both losses — to San Francisco and Seattle — were divisional losses in the NFC West.

It's hard to get a read on the Cardinals through four weeks. Their two wins came against two of the NFL's worst teams (New Orleans and Carolina), and while they were competitive against potential playoff teams, they still ended up falling just short. The jury is still very much out on them.