Preview: Seattle Seahawks versus the Arizona Cardinals
The Seattle Seahawks host the Arizona Cardinals Saturday at 1:25 pm PST CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks remain first in the NFC West with a record of 9-4-1. The Cardinals are coming to the end of what for them has been a disappointing season and are currently 5-8-1. Fans should still expect a tight game between two teams who do not seem to like each other. With a win, the Seahawks will move one more step closer to clinching the second seed in the NFC playoff standings, a first round bye and home-field advantage in at least one playoff game.
Motivation and Inspiration
Last week the Cardinals lost to the New Orleans Saints 48-41. While this game showed that the Cardinals do not have the defense efficiency that they had earlier in the season when they played the Seahawks in Glendale, Arizona also showed they were not ready to give up on the season. The Saints dominated time of possession and led 48-34 in the fourth quarter, but still Arizona nearly matched the Saints score for score.
Plus, the Cardinals are a team coached by Bruce Arians. Arians would like nothing more than to end Seattle’s unbeaten streak at home and affect the Seahawks playoff standing.
The Seahawks will want to show they are in postseason form, especially offensively. A team that has struggled with offensive consistency throughout the year may not to post 48 points like the Saints did, but somewhere in the upper 20s would go a long way towards proving to fans that Seattle has enough offense to win in the playoffs.
Defensively, Seattle will most likely be inspired to stop Arizona running back David Johnson and his National Football League-record 14 straight games to start a season with 100 yards or more from the line of scrimmage. Obviously, the Seahawks play with a lot of pride (attempting to lead the league in scoring defense for a fifth straight season is also a possibility), and putting an end to Johnson’s streak is one of the type of issues that normally motivates the team.
Seattle needs a win this week at home and then another win next week on the road against the San Francisco 49ers to cement home-field advantage in their first playoff game. Plus, if the Dallas Cowboys were to lose in the playoffs prior to playing the Seahawks, then Seattle would be at home for the duration of the NFC playoffs. This cannot be understated.
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If the Seahawks were to lose, then they would need losses by the Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons to get the home playoff game back. Winning on Christmas Eve is extremely important.
Seattle will also want to prove that there is no distraction to recent events surrounding Richard Sherman. In the last game Sherman could be seen yelling at offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, most likely about Bevell’s offensive play calling. This past week during a press conference, Sherman told 710 ESPN Seattle’s Jim Moore that he would “ruin (his) career” and that he would “make sure (Moore) doesn’t get (his) media pass anymore.”
To the latter moment, Moore is a respected member of the Seattle media and has had confrontations with other players before. These type of things happen between the media and players and this specific incident was blown completely out of proportion. Even Moore himself wrote at MyNorthwest.com, “In my mind, it’s hardly newsworthy enough to be a story.” This exchange between Sherman and Moore will not affect the Seahawks play in the slightest.
And in all honesty, neither will Sherman’s “outburst,” as the moment has been called several more times than needed, at Bevell. Sherman is an emotional player. Like other types of players of his ilk, sometimes emotions will go awry and cause moments of strife. While the Seahawks certainly were not pleased by the scene during the game last week, head coach Pete Carroll would also not want Sherman to stop being emotional. Not having any fear to speak his mind and show his displeasure (and pleasure) is partly what makes Sherman a great player; Seahawks fans should hope this does not stop any time soon.
Prediction
The Seahawks need this win more than the Cardinals. In recent weeks Seattle fans have seen other teams need wins more than the Seahawks did when playing Seattle: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers. In those games the more motivated team won. Seattle is 7-0 at home and plays with the confidence drawn from years of experience that beating the Seahawks at home is not easily done. With another home win and another win next week, the Seahawks will get the home playoff game.
The Cardinals will not make it easy. They still have talented players and a healthy dislike for Seattle. Seattle, though, should win this game and move one step closer to a first-round playoff bye.
Seahawks 27 Cardinals 14
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