Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals: Players to watch for

The Seahawks and Cardinals face off in an important matchup in week 11

The Seattle Seahawks take on a divisional foe for the second week in a row. They lost to the Los Angeles Rams 26-13 while the Cardinals won on a last second Hail Mary catch by DeAndre Hopkins.

With the Seahawks loss and wins by the Rams and Cardinals, all teams are now 6-3 and fighting for the first seed in the NFC West.

This game takes place as the weekly Thursday night game which only makes the stakes for both teams higher.

Here’s who to keep an eye out for.

DeAndre Hopkins

This is not as much as to watch for DeAndre Hopkins but more for who will be covering him. The Seahawks may be thin on the secondary as both cornerbacks, Shaquill Griffin and Quinton Dunbar are dealing with injuries.

It’s possible that Jamal Adams, the Seahawks best defensive player, will cover arguably the greatest wide receiver in the game but he may be better playing in the open.

It’s also possible that instead of pairing Hopkins up with their best defender, the Seahawks may opt to double cover him to limit his routes and space. Something to keep an eye on.

Russell Wilson

Since the Seahawks came off their Week 6 bye, Russell Wilson hasn’t been at his best. He’s combined for a solid nine touchdown passes but has thrown seven interceptions. Talks of Wilson getting MVP have also faded since.

Week 10 against the Rams was the worst performance from the quarterback as he didn’t throw a single touchdown pass while only throwing for 248 yards and two interceptions.

In the Cardinals and Seahawks last matchup which took place Week 7, Wilson completed 33 of 50 passes for 388 yards with three touchdowns and interceptions while also rushing for 84 yards.

The Seahawks got the win but it was a close one with the score being 37-34. This time around, Wilson will have to be more accurate with his passes and keep the interceptions down. With his recent struggles, it remains to be seen if he can do that.

Chris Carson

Chris Carson has missed three straight games with a foot injury but is expected to return for the upcoming matchup. This will be a big boost to the Seahawks offense and for the team, in general, that has lost three of its last four games.

While injuries happen to everyone, they can be problematic depending on the ailment and what position you play. For example, an offensive lineman wouldn’t be effective playing with an injury to their upper body, a kicker wouldn’t be able to play with leg pain, a quarterback wouldn’t be able to play with an arm injury and so on.

For a running back, a foot injury is troublesome as healthy feet are required for players that play that position to be at its best. While Carson has had lots of time to rest up, will he be able to take on a full workload after missing the past three games?

Also, on a short week, he may not be able to get a full return to practice which wouldn’t help his case of getting a full running back’s workload.

Tyler Lockett

The last time the Seahawks and Cardinals played each other, Tyler Lockett had the game of his life. He caught 15 of 20 targets for 200 yards and three touchdowns.

While he probably won’t replicate that this time around, can he put up another good stat line against the Cardinals in their second go around? Something like a 7-100+-1 line would be considered a good game for Lockett.