The Arizona Cardinals are now just three days away from the big rematch from last December with the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle
17-10. That’s what Arizona Cardinals fans remember. That’s history though. Some things have changed since that December 2013 afternoon in Seattle. The Cardinals are 9-1 this season and sit three games ahead of the Seahawks in the NFC West standings. However, not many are giving the Cardinals to repeat history in Seattle this weekend.
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Here are my five reasons why the Arizona Cardinals will beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
1. Momentum. Yes the Seahawks are looking for revenge for beating them in their own house last season. However, despite the loss of Carson Palmer at quarterback, Drew Stanton managed the victory over the Detroit Lions well. The defense has been even better and seem to be on a mission to not allow the lack of offense at times deter the team from victory. The Cardinals have lost once and I believe they learned from a lot of what went wrong against the Denver Broncos.
2. Rushing. It was disappointing that Cardinals running back Andre Ellington didn’t practice much on Wednesday but he’s due. The Cardinals proved they could run on the Seahawks last December. Ellington carried the ball 15 times for 64 yards. Former Cardinals running back Rashard Mendenhall rushed 21 times for 63 yards.
3. Turnovers. The Cardinals have held on to the ball this season. Yes, Drew Stanton threw two picks against the Lions last week but they were his first two of the season. The Cardinals are plus 11 in turnover ratio. They will not be throwing four interceptions in Seattle like last season. I’m not going to predict a zero turnover game but it won’t be anything like last season.
4. Knowing they enemy. The Cardinals know what they are dealing with and will be prepared. The underdog role is not motivation playing anyone, especially Seattle. This week head coach Bruce Arians said it best this week, twice:
Arians on motivation vs. Seattle: "They're the world champs. We're just 9-1. We haven't done s***."
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) November 19, 2014
5. Snowball effect. If something goes wrong, they don’t panic. The Cardinals saw the Lions take the ball away on two tough interceptions when the Cardinals could have built on the lead. They didn’t allow it to deter them. This week they will need to stop Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. He had five touchdown runs in their last home game two weeks ago. The Cardinals will be tested with their not allowing a 100-yard rusher streak they a going. They will continue that streak on Sunday.