In Week 6, the Arizona Cardinals face an upstart Seattle Seahawks team that has proven to hold its own in the post-Russell Wilson Era.
The Arizona Cardinals need to take the Seattle Seahawks seriously. Sure, Russell Wilson may be struggling in the Mile High City, but Geno Smith has become an overnight phenom in the Emerald City (wouldn’t it be nice to see emerald as part of the team’s uniforms again, by the way?). Anyway, regardless of how hot Smith has gotten this season, the Cardinals have a defense capable of shutting him down.
The Seahawks, despite riding Smith, have serious issues on defense. As of Week 6, they are the only team in the league that has allowed opposing offenses to score over 50% of the time. Their run defense is also spotty, meaning the Cardinals could finally do some damage in this one.
Given the sheer advantages the Cardinals have, let’s look at three wild but realistic predictions for their upcoming tilt against Seattle.
1 – Eno Benjamin rushes for 100-plus yards
Eno will burst onto the scene in this one. And while I still believe that the running back committee is the best approach, I can also see Eno rushing for over 100 yards against the NFL’s worst rushing defense.
This season, the Seahawks have allowed 5.0 yards per carry, 851 rushing yards, and nine touchdowns on the ground. Now that the Cardinals have some fresh faces at running back thanks to a slew of injuries, Eno might not be the only back ready to enjoy a big day.
2 – Arizona Cardinals defense holds the Seahawks to under 20 points
Despite Smith’s success through the air, the Seahawks scored 23 or fewer points in three of their first five contests. And while it’s true their two latest games generated a combined 80 points, they came against the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints. The Lions are 32nd in the league in points allowed, and New Orleans is 25th.
While it is true the Arizona Cardinals are 22nd in the league in the same category, their points allowed following the 44-21 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs sits at just 79 points since, or 19.75 points allowed per contest. Expect the Cardinals to take full advantage of the Seahawks struggles against better defenses.
3 – Cardinals break the 30-point barrier
The Cardinals have struggled on offense and the closest they came to 30 points occurred in Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Interestingly, six of those points came courtesy of Byron Murphy, who iced the game for the Redbirds.
This week, however, against the 32nd-ranked Seahawks defense, the Cardinals leave nothing to chance and end the game with their first 30-point outing of the season. And they will do so on the eve of DeAndre Hopkins’ return.
(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)