GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The first pass Drew Lock threw on Sunday wasn't meant to be a go ball.

But when Jaxon Smith-Njigba fakes out his defender that badly and is suddenly streaking downfield, wide open, you throw the darn go ball.

Lock, recognizing what Smith-Njigba had done to Cardinals cornerback Will Johnson, launched a deep ball down the right sideline that hit Smith-Njigba in stride, and the All-Pro receiver did the rest, outrunning safety Budda Baker, who also bit on the fake, to the end zone for an 82-yard touchdown, the longest score of his career.

Watching from the sideline, Smith-Njigba's defensive teammates marveled at just the latest standout play in a career full of them for the reigning AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

"We're sitting over there on the sideline, and when he catches the ball, we're just like, 'Man, this guy's a wizard,'" defensive tackle Leonard Williams said. "It's nice to have big playmakers on offense."

That touchdown was the first of three for Smith-Njigba, a single-game career high, to help lead the Seahawks to a 31-7 win over the Cardinals. Smith-Njigba, who led the NFL in receiving last year with 1,793 yards, had nine catches for 155 yards and the three scores on Sunday, giving him 17 catches for 277 and four touchdowns through two games this season.

"It just was another day in the life of JSN," right tackle Abraham Lucas said. "But to strike that early, it's definitely a statement and puts us in good graces, so to speak, for the rest of the game."

As good as Smith-Njigba is at his chosen profession, he is also a pretty talented basketball player, and he credits that sport with the head fake and juke that allowed him to get so open.

"That's my hooping skills right there," Smith-Njigba said.

Describing the first touchdown of what would be great performance for him, Lock said, "I was a little surprised. How I thought he was going to do it didn't happen, but that's the beauty of playing with him. He's going to find ways to get open. It might not have been the most conventional, but that's what makes him a ball player, and that's what makes him one of the best receivers. Offensive player of the year last year. That's just what he is and that's just what he does. He's so fun to play with. Which is why I think I probably could have gotten it out a step sooner, but sometimes you've got to see how he comes out of it."

Asked if that meant it the play wasn't designed to be a go-route, Lock said, "No, it was not a go route the whole time, and he managed to make it one… I never expected him to inside release the corner. That's just not a typical thing, but man, if he's going to play you that far outside and you want to get vertical on him -- go ahead. That was cool."

After that first touchdown, the Cardinals actually did a good job limiting Smith-Njigba and the rest of the offense for the remainder of the first half, leaving the scored tied, 7-7, at the break. But Lock was able to find his top receiver frequently in the second half, in part because of the way offensive coordinator Brian Fleury was moving Smith-Njigba around to make it harder for the Cardinals to bracket him with multiple defenders.

"That's just credit to Brian Fleury for putting me in great positions -- putting me in different spots, mixing it up," Smith-Njigba said. "I always feel like I can line up (at the) X, Z, Y, F, quarterback, if I have to, just to be able to get the job done. We have the guys to do it. It takes some intelligence and it takes guys who are capable of doing it and we have that in the room."

And it wasn't just that Smith-Njigba was getting more targets and catches in the second half, he was making plays in high-leverage situations, most notably snagging a 7-yard touchdown on third-and-goal on a great throw from Lock, who was facing a zero-blitz, to give the Seahawks the lead. He also hauled in a 12-yard touchdown on third-and-6 that helped break the game open early in the fourth quarter.

With another big game on Sunday, Smith-Njigba now has 11 100-yard games since the start of last season, and is up to 2,070 yards and 14 touchdowns on 136 catches over that 19-game stretch.

"Yeah, I rattled off like six stats before giving a game ball," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "I'm not really sure what they are, but it was all good. He's just a tremendous player, and talking about high leverage situations -- 4-point plays -- both of those touchdown catches really helped put the game away. What tremendous plays by Drew as well. I think he was hot on one of them and then getting to him in the back of the end zone was awesome too. That's what we expect from Jax. That's how good he is. That's the type of player he is and it's the kind of expectations he deserves."