With the Rams losing and the Niners winning in Week 9, the competition over in the NFC West certainly isn’t letting up. This coming Sunday night, the division race will get much more interesting when the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks – both winners of two-straight games and fresh off their respective byes – will battle one another in what should be another heated battle at CenturyLink Field.
Read on as we get up-close with this critical matchup below. For more of Week 10’s much-anticipated division rivalries (this time, over in the AFC), check out or previews for Browns vs. Steelers and Bills vs. Jets right after this.
[sc:NFL240banner ]The Arizona Cardinals and their offense continue to be relentless, with another impressive showing in a 23-38 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 8. It was the team’s first victory in Cleveland since 1985.
Carson Palmer once again torched another subpar defense, throwing for 374 yards and four touchdowns on 23-of-38 passing, with three of Palmer’s TDs coming in the second half. The 35-year-old was masterful in orchestrating the offense once again, converting 13 of 16 third downs and putting up 27 unanswered points before halftime to pull away from the Browns for good.
Much of Palmer’s supporting cast showed up in the win; wideouts Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald combined for 19 catches, 190 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while running back Chris Johnson rumbled for 109 rushing yards (albeit in 30 carries for a mere 3-yard-per-carry average).
With the offense firing on all cylinders and the defense doing just enough to keep opponents in check, the Cardinals just have to worry about one aspect of their game heading into Seattle: ball protection. Cleveland forced Arizona to cough-up four fumbles and lost three of them (two by RB Johnson), and the Cards now have 14 turnovers for the season. Only six other teams in the league have more turnovers than the Cardinals.
And things definitely do not get any easier for the team in its next road game. Arizona is 1-4 SU/ATS in its last five games played in Seattle, with the total going under on four occasions.
Betting on the Seattle Seahawks (4-4)
Don’t count out Seattle just yet; the Seahawks finally got back to the .500 mark with a resolute win over the Dallas Cowboys, 13-12, in Week 8. With the victory, the Seahawks improved to 21-6 in games heading into the bye (best running record in the NFL), and look to have left their woeful memories of a rough 2-4 start this season well behind them.
Seattle’s much-talked-about defense has shown tendencies of wilting down the stretch of contests this season, but two Sundays ago, the unit was impenetrable against the sputtering Cowboys. The Legion of Boom limited Dallas’ Matt Cassel to a pathetic 97-yard outing on 13-of-25 passing, and held the Cowboys to just 3.9 yards gained per play. And with that day’s performance, Seattle’s D is now ranked second in the league in yards allowed per game (284.9).
However, as much as the defense is containing its opposition in yardage, it still fails to generate turnovers for some game-changing possessions. Dallas hung around the contest mainly because the Seahawks failed to force any takeaways in the match. Seattle only has eight takeaways this season, and only five other teams have fewer takeaways than they do.
Also, the team’s offense is still not doing enough to support its resurgent defense. Russell Wilson had another ho-hum effort in the win over Dallas, throwing just 19 completions on 30 attempts for 210 passing yards, one touchdown and one pick. And while Jimmy Graham proved to be the team’s best option downfield, you’d expect more than just seven receptions and 75 yards from him – all team-high numbers already for that game.
Still, it’s hard to argue against the Seahawks when things are going right for them, especially since they have owned the Cards of late. Seattle has won four of the last five contests (SU/ATS) against Arizona.
Writer’s Prediction
Arizona with a rare win in Seattle, 34-28, and creates even more separation from the rest of the teams in the division.
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