What will happen when the Arizona Cardinals travel to the pacific northwest for a Week 11 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks?
The Arizona Cardinals are coming off of a rough loss to the Carolina Panthers. But, you can place an asterisk beside it. Colt McCoy led the charge only to go down with a pectoral injury, which made way for Chris Streveler. DeAndre Hopkins did not play, nor did Chase Edmonds.
It set the stage for an ugly afternoon, especially against a rejuvenated Panthers team that saw the return of its franchise player, Cam Newton.
The Cardinals face the Seattle Seahawks in Week 11, a team that suffered a shutout loss with the return of its own franchise player in Russell Wilson, who missed time with a finger injury.
While the Seahawks also suffered a heavy loss, let’s not get ahead of ourselves even if Kyler Murray returns this week. The Cardinals and Seahawks often make for memorable affairs, as 2020 showed with two close contests that ended as one-possession games.
Can the Cardinals overcome the Seahawks in Week 11? Or has the injury bug taken its toll on a team that started 2021 at 7-0? Here are three bold predictions.
Arizona will establish the run
And rush for over 150 yards. A stark contrast to last Sunday, when for some strange reason, the offense forgot they had a solid committee of running backs. Even without Chase Edmonds, Eno Benjamin has done a fantastic job over the past two weeks picking up the slack.
Benjamin has dealt with a groin injury per the latest injury report, but he has seen limited action in practice as of Wednesday. Conner has had a great season so far after many considered him to be the RB2 in Arizona when he signed with the Cardinals. He hasn’t exactly been a revelation, but he has become a solid contributor on offense.
And while the Seahawks have only allowed 4.1 yards per carry in 2021, they rank 22nd in rushing defense. Whether Murray, McCoy, or Streveler line up under center on Sunday (let’s leave nothing to chance), all three quarterbacks must rely on the run because of either injuries or limitations.
Look for the Cardinals to learn from their mistakes last week when they gave the ball to their running backs just 16 times in route to their worst loss of the season. And look for Conner and hopefully Benjamin to carry the team.
Arizona offense returns to the cosmos
With at least 400 total yards. The Cardinals’ offense fell back to Earth against the Panthers and gave us flashbacks to that dismal 2018 season during the short-lived Josh Rosen Era. This week, expect the Cardinals to bounce back, regardless of who is playing quarterback.
Over the past two weeks, they faced the league’s second-and third-best defenses in terms of total defense. The Seahawks have seen their defense improve as of late, but they’re still 27th overall. The Cardinals, even with backups filling in at the most important positions on the field, have proven they can score against talented defenses, hence their blowout win against the 49ers.
Look for the Cardinals to put last week’s debacle behind them and spring out of the gate on a scoring frenzy. Even if the Seahawks’ defense has done well in recent weeks in the points allowed department, the Cardinals still have plenty of offensive power without their main acts.
On a more positive note, Murray has been limited in practice this week, signifying he may be ready to return to action. However, neither Edmonds nor Hopkins looks like they’re ready to return, with Edmonds landing on IR and Hopkins still nursing a hamstring injury.
Arizona holds Wilson to under 200 passing yards
Here is a statistic you may not know about: Russell Wilson has thrown for under 165 passing yards in his last three games. His Seahawks have scored just 17 points in his last two outings. And while Wilson looked sharp earlier in the season and can return to that sharpness at any time, you can’t help but wonder whether he’s operating at 100 percent.
He completed just half his passes against the Green Bay Packers for 161 yards and two interceptions. Wilson has dominated defenses throughout his career. But the game against Green Bay is arguably one of his worst career outings.
Now, he faces a Cardinals defense that unlike the surprise factor they faced with the Panthers regarding Cam Newton and even P.J. Walker, knows Wilson better than most of the league’s 32 teams. The Cardinals are also third in the league with 19 takeaways and they are eighth in total passing defense.