Why Seahawks RB Ken Walker will run for 200 yards in Week 9

The Cardinals have a recent history of disrupting the Seahawks passing game. But Arizona has struggled against the run lately. Enter Ken Walker III.

Walker has only been a starter for Seattle for the last three games. In fact, he might still be subbing in for Rashaad Penny had Penny not been injured in Week 5. But Walker is the clear RB1 for Seattle at this point and should get tons of carries for the rest of the season if he himself doesn’t get hurt.

In the last three games, Walker has averaged 105 yards rushing per game and 5.08 yards per carry to go along with 4 touchdowns. He, like Penny, might get stuffed a few times but then break off a long run that changes the game. This happened in Week 8 versus the Giants when Walker ran for only 51 yards on 18 rushes but put away the game with a 16-yard touchdown run with 5:22 left.

The Cardinals have allowed at least 135 yards rushing in three of their last four games. In Week 6 when the Seahawks played the Cardinals, Walker ran 21 times for 97 yards with a long of 24 yards. He also scored a touchdown.

Ken Walker will have a huge game for the Seahawks in Week 9

So why will Walker run for 200 yards in Week 9? Because we have two trends heading directly at each other. Walker is a rookie learning his way but still being extremely productive and is due for a massive game (he did already have 167 yards rushing in Week 7 versus the Chargers). The Cardinals are an iffy defense that is better in pass coverage and pressuring the quarterback than they are versus the run.

Walker rushing for 200 yards might be extreme for both the Seahawks offense and the Cardinals defense but it just feels like this is the week it should happen. The Cardinals are 13th in yards allowed rushing (110.1) and 18th in yards allowed per rush (4.5). Not bad but many of the better parts of those statistics came in the first half of the year.

Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has also shown he isn’t afraid of staying with the run throughout a game. This happened in Week 8 versus the Giants. Walker will get the ball a lot and his success keeps the Cardinals offense off the field and allows Seattle to do something they weren’t capable of with Russell Wilson. That is, extending drives, controlling the time of possession and relying on the running game to win the game.