The Arizona Cardinals might be one of the scarier teams in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks to face in Week 18. While that does sound somewhat ridiculous, there are reasons I write that. The main reason, however, is that Seattle is awful against the run and the Cardinals run the ball really well, just like the Pittsburgh Steelers did against Seattle in Week 17.
Week 18 is also a great example of why being a fan can be so difficult emotionally sometimes. One should never want their favorite team to lose. Where is the joy in that? But should Seattle lose their draft status improves and could improve enough to get Seattle close to a top-ten pick.
But getting a pick near the top-ten also does not mean the Seahawks will be any better in 2024 so win or lose there is no guarantee the team's fortunes improve. That is unless Seattle can draft about three young Cortez Kennedys with one first-round choice in the 2024 NFL Draft. If that were a possibility, Seattle might as well lose. But here are three things I am guessing will happen in Week 18.
Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III will run for over 200 yards
Seattle has a recent tradition of not being able to run consistently well throughout the year and then having a running back explode in the final game of the regular season. In 2021, Seattle played Arizona and Rashaad Penny ran for 190 yards on 23 carries. Last year, Kenneth Walker ran for 114 yards on 29 carries against the Los Angeles Rams. Seattle ran for 197 yards total against the Rams. And the key with Walker wasn't the number of yards, but how many times he got the ball.
While the Seahawks stink at trying to stop the run, so do the Cardinals. The Seahawks have the worst defense in the NFL over the last 11 games both in terms of yards allowed per rush plus rushing yards allowed per game. But for the entire season, Arizona is 28th in allowing 4.6 yards a carry and last in rushing yards allowed per game (143.5). The Cardinals allowed just 91 in Week 17 but in the 11 previous games allowed at least 117 yards rushing and more than 200 in two of their last five games.
Walker currently has 827 rushing yards on the season and has 1,083 total yards. He simply hasn't gotten the ball enough. Plus, one way of keeping the Seahawks tired and terrible defense off the field is for the offense to run the ball well. Walker will get his second 100-yard-plus rushing game of the season, eclipse 1,000 yards for the year, and score 3 touchdowns versus Arizona.
The Cardinals run for nearly 300 yards, though
Week 18 is going to feel like a quick game between the Seahawks and Cardinals because both teams will run the ball so well. With fewer incompletions, there will be fewer stoppages of the clock so the game will seem like it is flying by except for one thing: The angst 12s feel throughout the game at watching the Seahawks' inability to once again stop another team from gaining so many rushing yards.
In two of Arizona's last three games, they have rushed for at least 221 yards. As poor as the Cardinals record is, they have been a good rushing team for the entire season. They currently rank 6 in rushing yards per game (134.9) and are tied for first in yards gained per attempt (5.0).
This is the case even though their leading rusher, James Connor, has 890 yards but no one else has more than 289 yards. In his seven games back from injury, though, quarterback Kyler Murray has 211 rushing yards and averages 5.4 yards per carry.
Murray will be limited in passing yards in Week 18, but Arizona won't much care about that as they will be so successful running the ball. The Cardinals will have 200 yards rushing by halftime and lead 17-14. Seattle will adjust at the half and do better at stopping the run in the second half, but the entire game will be a struggle for Bobby Wagner and friends.
Who wins and why?
The Seattle Seahawks need a victory in Week 18 coupled with a Green Bay Packers loss to the Chicago Bears to make the playoffs. This is the same kind of situation that Seattle had last year when they needed to defeat the Los Angeles Rams and have the Detroit Lions beat the Packers. That happened, so maybe the Seahawks will win and the Packers lose again in 2023. Once in the postseason, though, Seattle would unlikely be favored against anyone they play.
The Arizona Cardinals have nothing to lose as they have been out of the playoff hunt for some time. But Arizona has won four games which is more than many expected. They play hard and they definitely would love to ruin any chance Seattle has to make the playoffs.
The game and the future of the Seahawks could go a few different ways. Seattle could lose much the same way they did in Week 17 and then there might be a real discussion about Pete Carroll being the coach moving forward. The Seahawks could win, have a mediocre season again, and there are few changes this coming offseason.
My guess is that the Seahawks win behind Kenneth Walker's running and quarterback Geno Smith's efficient passing. Seattle will win 30-24, but the Packers will beat the Bears and the Seahawks season will come to a close. There will be few coaching changes in the offseason.