Seahawks Set to Take on Cardinals on Sunday Night
By Ben Renner
The Seahawks are set to take on the Arizona Cardinals in their first primetime game of the season on Sunday night.
In the most important game of this young season so far, the Seahawks head to the desert to face the Arizona Cardinals, who are trying to fight their way up the NFC West standings. Coming into the season, I and many other Seahawks fans, I suspect, circled this game on their schedules as one of the more important matchups of the season.
Not a difficult prediction, really. The Cardinals and the Seahawks figured to fight beak and claw for the divisional crown this year. But the Cardinals have stumbled at times and come into their critical Week 7 matchup at home against Seattle 3-3 after two straight wins. They managed a win over San Francisco with backup quarterback Drew Stanton taking over for starting QB Carson Palmer after dropping a 17-13 game on Thursday Night against the Rams earlier in the season.
We know about the Cardinals. Under head coach Bruce Arians, Arizona has a dynamic, star-studded, big-play offense when Palmer is healthy and a vicious defense anchored by several hybrid safeties like Tyrann Mathieu and a good pass rush. It will be a battle between two great defenses and two potent offenses.
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The Seahawks haven’t missed a beat running the ball with Christine Michael taking over for Thomas Rawls. They will have to lean on their running game against in Arizona to keep their many pass rushers from chasing Russell Wilson everywhere. When Wilson throws, he’ll no doubt be looking for tight end Jimmy Graham, one of the few players who can take on the Cardinals’ large and physical safeties and corners.
Graham has become the go-to-guy for Wilson in recent weeks. He appears to be over his knee injury and is back to jumping over defenders for big gains. The Cardinals need a win against their rivals to the north to stay in the running for the divisional title. It’s only Week 7, but positioning for the playoffs and getting the all-important homefield advantage has already begun.
The Seahawks are playing well and could steal a win on the road over Arizona on national television tonight. 31-28 Seahawks. The game is on NBC at 5:30.
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