Seahawks vs. Cardinals: Behind Enemy Lines for Week 18…

Seahawks vs. Cardinals: Behind Enemy Lines for Week 18 game

The Seattle Seahawks have one more game to play on their 2023 regular season schedule. Their final opponents are the Arizona Cardinals, who were eliminated from playoff contention several weeks ago but would love to play the spoiler against a division rival. Winning won’t guarantee Seattle a place in the postseason tournament, but losing would shut them out no matter what happens between Chicago/Green Bay.

To learn more about Arizona, we spoke with Cards Wire editor Jess Root. Here are a few questions he answered about his team.

Kyler Murray seems to be getting back to form. How would you evaluate his season?

In seven games, only the game against the Rams was where I thought he didn’t look good. That game appeared to be a tank job from the whole team. He appears to be on the same page with his receivers. His throws are great. He moves like he did pre-injury. He has two game-winning drives and two fourth-quarter comebacks. He rallied the Cardinals from a 15-point deficit last week and had three touchdown passes and only one incompletion in the second half. He is approaching the level he was playing at in 2021, which is incredibly exciting for next season.

Is James Conner their best playmaker right now? If not, who is?

Conner has been the guy, although tight end Trey McBride is right up there. Conner has been the focal point of the offense. Despite missing four games, he has a shot at 1,000 yards for the first time in his career (he needs 110 against the Seahawks). He is not only steady, he has been explosive. And with Hollywood Brown now on IR, receiver Greg Dortch has emerged as their best playmaking receiver over the last two weeks.

Who has been the most-impressive rookie for Arizona this season?

This is easily tackle Paris Johnson, their first-round pick. He has played every single snap this season. He hasn’t been perfect, but he is fantastic in the run game and has held his own against some of the vert best pass rushers in the league this season — Nick Bosa, Micah Parsons, T.J. Watt, Haason Reddick. His teammates call him All-Pro P, which suggests what they see in him moving forward.

What grade would you give Jonathan Gannon in Year 1?

The record is more or less what everyone expected it to be — four or five wins. He has dealt with injuries all over the defense and at receiver. He was given Josh Dobbs as a starting quarterback.Perhaps the greatest thing we can see from the team is that they compete every single week (except maybe the game against the Rams). They play hard for Gannon. I have questioned a coupld of things he does and they have been pretty bad on fourth down and on two-point conversions, but he deserves a solid B for the year.

Pick for Sunday's game?

I expect both teams to move the ball. The Cardinals outlasted the Eagles because they had the ball for nearly 40 minutes. They still allowed 24 points on defense in 20 minutes. However, Seattle won’t stop the rushing attack. It will be a high-scoring, close game. Seahawks 27, Cardinals 24