No one was picking the Arizona Cardinals to win more than five games this season. No one was picking them as a legitimate threat to the rest of the NFC West. No one was picking them to beat the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi and start the year off 1-0. Do the Seattle Seahawks have a problem on their hands?
How Drew Lock plays on Sunday against the Cardinals could determine outright who wins the first of two matchups between these division rivals. Lock isn't the only quarterback involved, though, of course, which is where journeyman-but-good-enough-to-start-anywhere-really Jacoby Brissett comes into the picture.
The Cardinals handed over the keys to Brissett this offseason after unloading Kyler Murray. Brissett is by no means a star or even a tier-three or four quarterback, but he does win, impacts games more often than not, and he has some intangibles that can give opponents trouble; ask the Chargers. The Seahawks can't overlook two of Brissett’s key intangibles, or they risk being upset in Arizona.
Jacoby Brissett's quick-release and efficiency can potentially give the Seattle Seahawks' defense some problems
Okay, maybe the Seahawks aren't exactly at risk of falling in an upset to the Cardinals—it's hard to imagine Mike Macdonald's defense letting that happen. Against a stronger overall opponent without Sam Darnold, then yes, an upset is more than possible. Against the Cardinals, though? Unlikely.
Still, the Seahawks defense can't overlook Brissett and the strong quarterback traits he does possess, like the ones he showed in Week 1 against the Chargers. Brissett doesn't do much great, but he does some things very well, and one of them is his quick-release passing.
Brissett is calculated in his passing because of his short-range efficiency. Any quarterback who gets rid of the football quickly to checkdown targets or wide receivers in the 10-to-15-yard range can be dangerous. While those types of plays aren’t explosive, they move the football. Quick release has been one of Brissett's best abilities throughout his NFL career, so the Seahawks can't fall victim to it.
The other problem Brissett poses is his connection with Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. Again, given that the Seahawks have one of the best secondaries in the league, they're better equipped to shut down the opposing team's No. 1 target. For the Cardinals, McBride is that. That said, he's one of the league's best tight ends, and he's a threat anywhere on the field.
Brissett has heavily targeted McBride in the 15 combines games he's been a Cardinal going back to last season. The two have over 100 target attempts going back to last year, far more than any other Cardinal pass-catcher. In Week 1, Brissett threw to McBride 13 times, six more times than Michael Wilson and 10 more times than Marvin Harrison Jr., who is supposed to be Arizona's primary guy.
McBride accumulated 1,239 yards last season, with most of those yards coming thanks to Brissett. The Seahawks may not have a great offense to contend with on Sunday, but they will have to lock in on the Brissett-McBride connection to quell any sort of Cardinals offensive success.
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