The Seattle Seahawks returned from the bye week to face a pretty tough opponent in the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals were just heating up as the Seahawks were just getting healthy, The outcome was the second loss of the season for Seattle. The team welcomes the lowly Arizona Cardinals to town. Our boys must be salivating at the opportunity to get back on track as the Cardinals are 1-5 and are arguably the worst team in the NFL, no joke.
I typically do find any joy in trash-talking another team. I also do not find it good mojo to bash another squad before a game. I simply cannot help myself this week because the Cardinals are just awful. Awful. Sure they beat Dallas earlier this season, and sure they have been in a few games, but they have done what all terrible teams do; they find a way to lose.
The Seahawks should roll the Cardinals and the bird gang had better brace themselves for a beatdown. This is one of those articles that pretty much writes itself. Let's take a look at the top 3 keys to victory for Seattle Seahawks versus Arizona Cardinals in Week 7.
Seattle Seahawks had better not forget who they are playing
Seattle gets to play Arizona this weekend, they need to remember this. Coming off of a tough loss, the team gets to play at home, against a garbage team. Act like it. I get that 'on any given Sunday' blah, blah, blah. But at this point in the season it's time to separate the men from the boys.
Arizona does literally nothing well and gets to do that in front of the 12's. Have fun with that. The Seahawks need to take advantage of the matchup and play at home. If we come out swinging and put the Cards on their heels right away this game should be as good as done. Arizona's best offensive player (not named Kyler Murray - and even then I would argue my point) running back James Connor is on IR and the team is very one-dimensional. All of the matchups favor Seattle.
Remember, good teams win the games that they are supposed to. Seattle has a good team, and they are supposed to win this game.
The Seattle pass rush needs to blow Josh Dobbs up
Remember just a few weeks ago when the Seattle defense had 11 sacks against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football? If the Seahawks want to guarantee a victory they need to get after the Cardinals' quarterback Josh Dobbs the same way the lit-up Daniel Jones.
The Cardinals have done a pretty good job protecting the quarterback this season, allowing just 11 sacks this year. The Seahawks have 19 sacks this season, led by Jarran Reed and Boye Mafe with 3 each. On Sunday, these guys need to get after Dobbs and make his Sunday a horrible one. I predict Reed will come away with one sack, Mafe will have 2, and safety Jamal Adams will get a sack as well.
I cannot stress the importance of the Seattle pass rush in this game. With the team being very one-dimensional, the Cardinals will be trying to move the ball through the air. Dobb is not terrible, but he is a career backup/practice squad player. The fact that the Cards are rolling with Dobbs this season tells you 2 things. The first, they are not that good and they do not have anybody better. The second, they are tanking and are going to draft Caleb Williams. The Kyler Murray era is over.
The Seahawks secondary needs to handle Marquise Brown and Michael Wilson
The third and final key to victory for Seattle is to find a way to contain wide receivers Marquise Brown and Michael Wilson. As mentioned, the Cards will be one-dimensional on Sunday and will look to move the ball through the air. The Cardinals have 2 solid tight ends but typically do the majority of their damage with Brown and Wilson.
Brown is the number 1 receiver in Arizona and could be elite on another team. Dude is fast, has great hands, and can get open. Wilson has been sensational at times this season (his rookie year). Both of these guys would benefit from better quarterback play, and better play calling. Neither receiver is that scary, so the Seattle secondary should be able to answer whatever these guys throw at them. This third key ties into the first and second key because in order for the Seahawks to stop them, they need to be real about who they are, and get after the guy throwing them the ball.
I predict that Brown will have 5 catches for 75 yards, and Wilson will have 4 catches for 60 yards. I do not see either player scoring a touchdown on Sunday.
Seattle has their best matchup of the season and at the perfect time too. I predict the Seahawks will win 31-10. Let's go Seahawks!