The Arizona Cardinals find themselves in a pivotal matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. It’s too early to call a Week 6 game a must-win, but this is pretty close.
A win against Seattle and the Cardinals are back to .500 with All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins returning this week. There are certainly worse scenarios than that one.
Perhaps the Cardinals add more help via the trade deadline in the pass rush department. General Manager Steve Keim hasn’t been shy about doing so in the past three seasons.
None of that matters if the Cards can’t pick up a win against a surprisingly solid Seahawks team. Let’s take a look at this one.
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Arizona's offense vs. Seattle's defense
The Seahawks defense has been abysmal the past two weeks. It would be concerning if the Cardinals can’t find a decent amount of offensive success in this one.
In their past two games, the Seahawks have allowed 94 points to the Lions and Saints. Last week, New Orleans was missing their starting quarterback and all three of their starting receivers when Chris Olave left the game early.
The Cardinals are the only team in the NFL to not score a single point in the first quarter. It’s an incredibly embarrassing statistic, particularly when you consider these are the scripted drives that teams are supposed to have the most confidence in.
The best offensive player by far for Arizona has been Hollywood Brown, who is on pace for over 1,400 yards. He’s had a productive outing in every game so far this season, so look for that trend to continue against this Seattle defense.
Geno Smith and the offense have been significantly better than anticipated, so it’ll be important for Kyler Murray and company to put up their share of points. If they can’t put together a good offensive performance, there will be many, many questions being asked about the direction of this team.
Seattle's offense vs. Arizona's defense
Surprisingly, this is the more exciting matchup in this game.
In their last three games, the Cardinals defense is allowing a mere 18.7 points per game. They’ve been very good against top-tier offenses like the Rams and Eagles and have given the team enough chances to win those games.
Geno Smith is making a very good case for comeback player of the year. He currently has the highest quarterback rating in the NFL at 113.2. He’s outplaying Seattle’s former signal-caller in Russell Wilson to this point.
While most anticipated the Seahawks to be terrible this season, their offense has been far from it. Smith and the pairing of D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett have been sensational in their last two games.
Against the Saints, Smith made a number of jaw-dropping throws and continued to cement his status as a viable starting quarterback in the league. However, the Cardinals defense is the best group he’ll face in a number of weeks.
Seattle’s offense failed to produce against the Broncos and 49ers, but otherwise performed well against bad to mediocre units. This Cardinals group is likely on par with Denver and not quite to San Francisco’s level.
While their currently run is impressive, it’ll be interesting to see if they can replicate their previous two weeks against a much better defense.
Zach Allen, Byron Murphy and Isaiah Simmons are all impact young defenders that are ascending into Pro-Bowl talents. Paired with the veterans on the roster, this Cardinals defense is vastly exceeding their own expectations.
Injuries
Cardinals:
- C Rodney Hudson (knee)
- RB James Conner (ribs)
- CB Trayvon Mullen (hamstring)
- K Matt Prater (hip)
- RB Darrel Williams (knee)
- LT D.J. Humphries (hamstring)
- G Justin Pugh (elbow)
- C Sean Harlow (ankle)
- DT Rashard Lawrence (hand)
Seahawks:
- DL Shelby Harris (hip)
- G Gabe Jackson (knee, hip)
- DT Al Woods (knee)
- OLB Darrell Taylor (neck)
- WR Tyler Lockett (hamstring)
- CB Justin Coleman (calf)
