Cardinals vs. Seahawks: Thursday Night Football Preview and Predictions
By Robbie Williams
Thursday, Nov. 19 at 8:20 PM ET
NFL Network, Amazon, Fox
SPREAD: Seahawks, -3.0
The Arizona Cardinals will try to sweep the division series against their rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, after beating them in their first matchup of the year in a 37-34 overtime finish that had over a thousand total yards and five turnovers. Not only will this game decide who will lead the NFC West going into the home stretch of the season, but it’s sure to be another exciting high-scoring battle between two great quarterbacks who’ve both shown their ability to improvise and make big plays in big games. Russell Wilson will look for redemption and revenge for his losing streak the past two weeks where he has thrown a whopping four interceptions and only two touchdowns, as well as for the overtime loss to Kyler Murray in Week 6.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have been an exciting team to watch this year, scoring 21 points or more in every game this season, with 5 out of those 9 games being decided in the 4th quarter. After last week's “Hail Murray,” it stands to reason that this rematch against the Seahawks might have Cardinals fans praying once again as their playoff hopes hang in the balance.
Cardinals Offense
DeAndre Hopkins catches the game winning Hail Mary in Week 10. (Ross D. Franklin/AP)
Arguably the best offense in the league this year, the Cardinals boast the most total yards as well as the most rushing yards in the NFL, thanks largely to the incredible performance of their 2nd-year Quarterback, Kyler Murray, who accounts for 2,979 total yards and 27 touchdowns of the Cardinals total 3,829 yards and 32 touchdowns. However, some of the pressure will continue to be let off of Murray and his top Wideout DeAndre Hopkins as Kenyan Drake remains healthy this week following his return in Week 9, where he had a healthy 100 yards rushing on the dot while averaging 6.2 yards a carry. With this offense healthy and already on a roll despite injuries, look for the Cardinals to continue their dominant offensive production and run over a weak Seattle Defense that is a shadow of its former self.
Cardinals Defense
The Cardinals D hasn’t been amazing but they haven’t been bad either. They rank 8th in points allowed, so they step up when it counts despite being 17th in total yards allowed, 18th in passing, and 16th in rushing. They also have 12 takeaways on the season with eight interceptions and three of those coming against Russell Wilson in Week 6. Budda Baker will continue to play a huge role in stifling Wilson’s passing game along with Patrick Peterson despite Chandler Jones being out for the season. The Cardinal’s defensive strength is in their secondary and they will look to play to that strength as the turnover margin is where this shootout of a game is going to be decided, just like their last in Week 6 where Arizona won the takeaway battle 3-2.
Seattle Seahakws
The Seahawks are coming off of a two-game losing streak with a 2-3 division record and starting running back in Chris Carson, who remains inactive with a foot injury. If they can’t turn things around this week against the Cardinals and keep them from winning the divisional tie-breaker, they stand to have an even tougher path to the playoffs than they already do, playing in the most competitive division in the NFL.
Seahawks Offense
The Seahawks passing game will put the Cardinals secondary to the test in this Week 10 matchup. Russell Wilson and his top Wideouts Tyler Lockett and D.K Metcalf have performed remarkably this season, leading the Seahawks to rank 5th in the league in passing yards and 2nd in total points scored despite a lackluster running game with Carson being injured. MVP candidate Wilson has 2,789 passing yards and 28 passing touchdowns that help make up for the 10 interceptions he’s thrown on the season. The Seahawks hope to have Carson and Carlos Hyde return this week to take the pressure off Wilson and keep those interceptions to a minimum. If they can keep the turnovers down, Seattle stands a great chance of taking home a W to end their losing streak and go on top in the NFC West.
Seahawks Defense
The Seahawks enter Week 11 with the worst pass defense in the NFL. (Getty Images)
This is the main weakness of the Seahawks and could prove to be their downfall in this game and the season as a whole. Seattle’s defense is ranked 32nd in total yards allowed, 27th in points allowed, and 32nd in passing yards. The only bright spots on defense are their 15 takeaways on the season and their 4th ranked rushing defense led by Bobby Wagner at Middle Linebacker. He is a beacon of hope on the worst defense in the NFL, and he will have to play at the top of his game to slow down the number one rushing offense in the league that is finally back to full health with Kenyan Drake returning last week.
The Prediction
With the return of Kenyan Drake to an already stellar offense and a defense that has shown it can handle Russell Wilson, the Cardinals will take the lead in the NFC West against a one-dimensional team that is completely reliant on a QB that is forced into throwing a lot of interceptions specifically because they are so reliant on him. The diversity of the Arizona Cardinals will be the downfall of the Seattle Seahawks, but with both defenses needing work and two MVP candidates going at it, this matchup should be one of the most exciting games this season.
AJ’S PREDICTION: Cardinals 34 - 30
CADE’S PREDICTION: Cardinals 24 - 21
ROBBIE’S PREDICTION: Cardinals 28 - 24
TIMOTHY’S PREDICTION: Cardinals 31 - 28
SHAWN’S PREDICTION: Cardinals 27 - 24
Robbie is a sports writer for La Tonique Media.
