3 major advantages the Arizona Cardinals have over Seattle

The Arizona Cardinals have remained one of the NFL’s best teams on the road over the past year-and-a-half. But that’s not their only advantage this Sunday. 

The Arizona Cardinals will invade Lumen Field this in Week 6, hoping to even their record up at 3-3. A win against the Seattle Seahawks will also extend the Cardinals winning streak on the road to three games, while improving their regular season road record to 11-1 (minus the playoffs) since Week 1 of the 2021 season.

It is safe to say the Cardinals have road field advantage in this one. But they also have a few more advantages over their NFC West rival. Below, you will find three of them.

1 – Arizona Cardinals running game vs. Seahawks defense

Sure, the Cardinals are currently beaten up in the backfield. But they have a capable RB1 in Eno Benjamin, plus potentially two new running backs who also may see some playing time this weekend.

Benjamin has shown time and again that he can be an effective back. And because of the injuries, 201st overall pick Keaontay Ingram could also enjoy a solid outing against a Seahawks defense that until the Thursday Night affair between the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders, ranked 32nd in the league. They are also one of just eight teams to have given up an average of 5.0 yards per carry or more.

2 – A sound defense beats a sound offense

Minus their debilitating performance in Week 1, the Arizona Cardinals defense has been one of the NFL’s best. And surprisingly so, given the overall lack of talent next to three dynamic playmakers in the defensive backfield.

The defense has been so solid, I penned a piece just last night stating that Vance Joseph, given what he’s had to work with as the defensive coordinator, would make a better head coach than the incumbent Kliff Kingsbury. This Sunday, look for yet another solid outing from Joseph’s defense against a Seahawks offense that is second with 6.6 yards per play and fifth in scoring percentage.

3 – Speaking of the Arizona Cardinals sound defense…

Last week, the Seahawks lost their dynamic running back in Rashaad Penny to a season-ending injury. Penny was in the middle of a career season, rushing for 346 yards, 6.1 yards per carry, and five touchdowns. Do the math, and that equals 1,176 yards and 17 touchdowns.

And while the Cardinals have their own issues at running back (see Section 1), the difference is, their defense stops the run a heck of a lot better than Seattle’s. Right now, the Cardinals are 11th in the league in yards per carry allowed, with 4.3.

They are also fifth in the NFL with 487 rushing yards allowed. A “little bit” better than their NFC West rivals. Overall, if the Cardinals can run the ball and stop the run, they will have a huge advantage over the Seahawks in this game. And their dynamic defense overall could be too much for the Seahawks to overcome this Sunday afternoon.

(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)