The Arizona Cardinals Must Go Through Seattle For the NFC West Title

If the Arizona Cardinals want to win the NFC West, they’ll have to overcome the Seattle Seahawks

Just two seasons ago, the Arizona Cardinals had their greatest regular season ever. They won a franchise record 13 games, scored the most points in team history, and were a game away from the Super Bowl. It was a great time to be a player for, or a fan of, the Cardinals.

Last season blindsided nearly everyone. The team was a popular pick to win their first Super Bowl, and greatness was expected. Unfortunately, things didn’t fall their way, and they struggled to a 7-8-1 record. The played poorly nearly everywhere, and missed the playoffs.

One positive was their play against their biggest divisional rivals. In two games versus the Seattle Seahawks, they avoided a loss, tying in Arizona and actually winning in Seattle, which is always difficult.

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Going into 2017, the Cardinals are flying in under the radar. Losing major contributors like Calais Campbell and Kevin Minter hurt. They also had some pretty big holes to fill on both sides of the ball, and made few impact moves in free agency.

With the draft past, and free agency mostly over, predictions for the 2017 season are beginning to take shape. Cautious optimism seems to the best way to describe the feeling for Cardinals fans.

If the Cardinals want to repeat 2015, instead of 2016, they will need to have some things go their way. Injuries will need to be avoided, and some guys will need to have big years. One big thing they’ll need to do, though, is once again, play the Seahawks tough.

Carson Palmer has a winning record against Seattle since he’s been Arizona’s quarterback, so that works in the Cardinals favor, but it will take more than that. The Seahawks have been to the playoffs in five straight seasons and have won the NFC West three of the past four years. They are, until proven otherwise, the standard bearers of the division.

The Cardinals added some very good talent in the draft, and overhauled a special teams unit that was disastrous last season. They brought back Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald, and hope that they have adequately replaced the lost players on defense.

There is reason to believe that the Cardinals will be a better team in 2017. A return to the playoffs would go a long way towards erasing the 2016 season from fans’ memories. However, if they want to get there, and make a run, they have to beat the top teams, and in the NFC West, that’s the Seahawks. For the Cardinals, the road to the playoffs start there.