Arizona (6-4) at Seattle (5-5)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, Fox
BetMGM NFL Odds: Cardinals by 1.
Series record: Seahawks lead 27-22-1
Against the spread: Cardinals 7-3, Seahawks 3-6-1
Last meeting: Seahawks beat Cardinals 21-20 on Jan. 7, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz.
Last week: Cardinals had a bye; Seahawks beat the 49ers 20-17.
Cardinals offense: overall (12), rushing (5), passing (23), scoring (13)
Cardinals defense: overall (21), rushing (19), passing (21), scoring (12)
Seahawks offense: overall (10), rushing (28), passing (2), scoring (17)
Seahawks defense: overall (22), rushing (27), passing (15), scoring (21)
Turnover differential: Cardinals: even, Seahawks minus-6
Safety Budda Baker continues to play at a high level in his eighth season and leads an improving Arizona defense. The two-time All-Pro has 100 tackles through 10 games and leads the team with seven tackles for a loss. He’s also been a great mentor for young CBs such as Max Melton and Garrett Williams.
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba has two 100-yard receiving games in Seattle’s past two weeks, and could be in for another big game against the Cardinals’ 21st ranked passing defense. Smith-Njigba leads Seattle with 60 catches for 678 yards.
Seahawks run defense vs. Cardinals run game. The Cardinals are averaging the fifth-most rushing yards per game in the NFL at 149.4 behind standout running back James Conner and the running ability of quarterback Kyler Murray. Those two run threats will face a Seahawks run D that has improved in recent weeks following the acquisition of linebacker Ernest Jones.
Cardinals rookie DT Darius Robinson (calf) could make his season debut after missing the first 10 games. ... RT Jonah Williams (knee) could also play for the first time since Week 1. ... Coach Jonathan Gannon said starting S Jalen Thompson (ankle) is day to day after missing the previous game against the Jets.
Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins (hand) could return this week after missing the past four games. … CB Dee Williams (ankle) is day to day after leaving Seattle’s game on Sunday against the 49ers.
The first matchup between the teams was a 30-24 win by the then-St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 12, 1976, in the first game in Seahawks franchise history. … Seattle has won five games in a row over the Cardinals, going back to 2021. That is the longest Seahawks winning streak against Arizona in series history. … The Cardinals won the first five games between the teams from 1976 to 1995. … The biggest margin of victory in the series came on Dec. 9, 2012, when Seattle beat Arizona 58-0.
Arizona is returning from its bye week with back-to-back road games against the Seahawks and the Vikings. ... The Cardinals are on a four-game winning streak and have also won five of their past six. They’re in first place in the NFC West ... QB Kyler Murray enters the game with a active streak of 17 consecutive completions, which is already a franchise record. ... The Cardinals defense has allowed just nine and six points over the past two games. That’s just the second time over the past 30 seasons that the team has allowed fewer than 10 points in consecutive games. ... Arizona’s offensive line has allowed just 15 sacks, which ranks third in the NFL behind Buffalo and Green Bay. ... Arizona has committed just 46 penalties, which is the fewest in the league. ... Murray completed 91.7% of his passes in the team’s previous win against the Jets. That’s the second-highest completion rate in a game with at least 20 attempts in franchise history. ... Baker has 31 career games with at least 10 tackles. That’s the most in the NFL for a defensive back since his debut season in 2017. ... Arizona’s defense has 13 sacks by nine different players during the four-game winning streak. … Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett needs two touchdowns to pass Marshawn Lynch for third on Seattle’s career touchdowns list with 67 and needs one 100-yard game to tie Darrell Jackson for second in franchise history with 19. … WR DK Metcalf needs 72 receiving yards to pass Steve Largent for the most in a player’s first six seasons in franchise history with 6,042 and needs one receiving touchdown to pass Largent for the most in a player’s first six seasons in franchise history with 47. … QB Geno Smith needs one 300-yard game to tie Russell Wilson for the most 300-yard games in a single-season in franchise history with five. … RB Kenneth Walker III needs three rushing touchdowns to set single-season career high with 10 and to become the first Seahawks player with double-digit rushing touchdowns since Marshawn Lynch in 2014.
The second week with RT Abe Lucas back and C Olu Oluwatimi starting on the line could mean a long-awaited big game for Walker. Walker has mostly been held in check this season behind a line that has often been in flux, but if the line can continue improve as it did last week, Walker could be in for a breakout performance.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) celebrates after an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Roy Lopez (98) celebrates after an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) scores against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrates with wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) after scoring against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general amid continued fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation's chief federal law enforcement officer.
The announcement caps a turbulent eight-day period in which Trump sought to capitalize on his decisive election win to force Senate Republicans to accept provocative selections like Gaetz, who had been investigated by the Justice Department before being tapped last week to lead it. The decision could heighten scrutiny on other controversial Trump nominees, including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, who faces sexual assault allegations that he denies.
“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz, a Florida Republican who one day earlier met with senators in an effort to win their support, said in a statement.
“There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1," he added.
Trump, in a social media post, said: “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!”
He did not immediately announce a new selection. Last week, he named personal lawyers Todd Blanche, Emil Bove and D. John Sauer to senior roles in the department. Another possible contender, Matthew Whitaker, was announced Wednesday as the U.S. ambassador to NATO.
The withdrawal, just a week after the pick was announced, averts what was shaping up to be a pitched confirmation fight that would have tested how far Senate Republicans were willing to go to support Trump’s Cabinet picks.
The selection of the fierce Trump ally over well-regarded veteran lawyers whose names had circulated as possible contenders stirred concern for the Justice Department's independence at a time when Trump has openly threatened to seek retribution against political adversaries. It underscored the premium Trump places on personal loyalty and reflected the president-elect's desire to have a disruptor lead a Justice Department that for years investigated and ultimately indicted him.
In the Senate, deeply skeptical lawmakers sought more information about Justice Department and congressional investigations into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls, which Gaetz has denied. Meanwhile, Justice Department lawyers were taken aback by the pick of a partisan lawmaker with limited legal experience who has echoed Trump's claims of a weaponized criminal justice system.
As Gaetz sought to lock down Senate support, concern over the sex trafficking allegations showed no signs of abating.
In recent days, an attorney for two women said his clients told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions beginning in 2017, when Gaetz was a Florida congressman.
One of the women testified she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old at a party in Florida in 2017, according to the attorney, Joel Leppard. Leppard has said that his client testified she didn’t think Gaetz knew the girl was underage, stopped their relationship when he found out and did not resume it until after she turned 18. The age of consent in Florida is 18.
"They’re grateful for the opportunity to move forward with their lives,” Leppard said Thursday of his clients. “They’re hoping that this brings final closure for all the parties involved.”
Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. The Justice Department’s investigation ended last year with no charges against him.
Gaetz’s political future is uncertain.
He had abruptly resigned his congressional seat upon being selected as attorney general, a move seen as a way to shut down the ethics investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He did win reelection in November for the new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, 2025, but he said in his resignation letter last week that he did not intend to take the oath of office.
There are plans for a special election in Florida for his seat.
Republicans on the House Ethics Committee declined this week to release the panel's findings, over objections from Democrats in a split vote. But the committee did agree to finish its work and is scheduled to meet again Dec. 5 to discuss the matter.
As word of Gaetz's decision spread across the Capitol, Republican senators seemed divided.
Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who served with Gaetz in the House, called it a “positive move." Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Gaetz “put country first and I am pleased with his decision.”
Others said they had hoped Gaetz could have overhauled the department.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a close ally of Trump, said he was “disappointed. I like Matt and I think he would have changed the way DOJ is run.”
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said he hopes Trump will pick someone “equally as tenacious and equally as committed to rooting out and eliminating bias and politicization at the DOJ.”
Gaetz is not the only Trump pick facing congressional scrutiny over past allegations. A detailed investigative police report made public Wednesday shows that a woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth, the former Fox News host now tapped to lead the Pentagon, after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave.
“The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth told reporters Thursday at the Capitol, where he was meeting with senators to build support for his nomination.
Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Adriana Gomez Licon contributed to this report.
Matt Gaetz arrives before President-elect Donald Trump speaks during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., center, and Vice President-elect JD Vance, left, walk out of a meeting with Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., closes a door to a private meeting with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
