Seahawks at Cardinals: Preview, Predictions, and More
Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals
It’s every season that the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals are seemingly battling for control of the NFC West. At least in recent history, that’s largely been the case. That was expected to be so in the 2016 season as well. However, each team has had a different go of it through the first six weeks of the season. With the Cardinals seeming to have righted the ship, though, their NFL Week 7 matchup on Sunday Night Football with the rival Seahawks could be of massive importance.
Through the first few weeks of the season, the narrative seemed to be that something was wrong with the Cardinals. Watching them play, that wasn’t hard to imagine. Carson Palmer and the offense looked out of sorts. Even more troubling, though, one of the most talented defenses in the league seemed to not be rising to the occasion once kickoff happened. However, they have seemingly turned a corner after an emphatic Monday Night Football win last week.
As for the Seahawks, they’ve showed flashes of brilliance, but have also earned wins by the seat of their pants on a couple of occasions as well. There are flaws within this team, but the defense is still powerful and they’ve used that to get to a 4-1 record. Now they’ll see if they have enough to withstand a fired up Cardinals team when they go on the road.
Keys to Victory
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Many people early in the season noted the struggles with the Seattle offensive line. Because of the wins, people seem to have forgotten that. However, those issues haven’t gone away by any stretch. Bruce Arians is one of the most creative and aggressive coaches when it comes to his defense and bringing pressure. If he smells blood on that offensive line, how he attacks Seattle and the success he has doing so will be of paramount importance. Finding seams with their rushing attack on the other side of the ball certainly wouldn’t hurt either.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks have to make sure that they get after Palmer in this matchup. Yes, their secondary can make up for a lack of pressure. However, the Cardinals quarterback still seems off-kilter right now and far from the player he was last season. If they can get in his face and force him into quick decisions, they’ll make life much easier on themselves and open it up for them to control the game.
Odds
Point Spread: Arizona -1
Moneyline: Arizona -120, Seattle +100
Over/Under: 43.5
Prediction
Both of these teams are chock-full of talent. However, I think that the Seahawks might be riding a little higher than they should be. Contrarily, I think people might be doubting this Cardinals team because they were slow out of the gate. In Arizona in primetime, I think the Cards again pull through with a big win, just as they did last week.
Pick: Seattle Seahawks: 10, Arizona Cardinals: 23