GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The ever-outspoken Richard Sherman sounded off after Sunday’s 36-6 win for the Seattle Seahawks over the Arizona Cardinals, saying the Cardinals have reason to be worried about the Seahawks in the playoffs.

“They should be concerned,” Sherman said.

The Seahawks have three straight wins over the Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. None of them have been close and the Seahawks have scored more than 30 points in each.

The Cardinals talked about the importance of beating Seattle this week, for a couple of reasons. One was to win a division rivalry game against a team they’d struggled against at home. Another was for a shot at the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed, which the Cardinals lost, and a third, outlined by Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell, was to hurt the Seahawks’ confidence in case the two teams meet again in the postseason. In that case, Arizona would be the home team.

But the Seahawks were in control from the start despite missing two starters on the offensive line, their starting tight end, their top two running backs and Pro Bowl safety Kam Chancellor.

Sherman got off to a rough start when he was flagged for an illegal block on Arizona’s first punt of the day. The penalty negated a 22-yard return.

Sherman thought he was going to be penalized again on a 66-yard punt return in the second quarter, but the officials got the Cardinals’ Brittan Golden for a facemask on the return.

“I was just trying to do my part on punt return,” Sherman said. “The one earlier, I thought I blocked him the exact same way and I didn’t think that was a flag.”

Sherman had one more moment with the officials. He was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on the second-to-last play of the third quarter when he made a gesture that looked he was pulling down his pants and squatting. Wide receiver Doug Baldwin did a similar gesture in the Super Bowl at the same stadium last February, also drawing a penalty.

Sherman offered an explanation.

“I was talking to [Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer] and the ref thought I had did something, it was just funny,” Sherman said. “You hear some of these guys talk sometimes and you never forget anything. And this offseason, I think the kid Brown [Cardinals receiver John Brown] said I couldn’t guard him one on one. Things like that are laughable.

“You can find the article. He said I couldn’t guard him. That’s the kind of disrespect you make sure they remember."

The squatting gesture was to signify that Brown was sitting on the bench at the time and therefore couldn’t back up his words.

“It always looks like something different,” Sherman said, smiling.