3 major advantages the Arizona Cardinals have over the Seahawks
By Sion Fawkes
The Arizona Cardinals let the lowly Seattle Seahawks defense embarrass them when the two teams met in Week 6. That should change in Week 9.
The Arizona Cardinals offense got laughed off the field during their Week 6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks, who had the league’s worst defense at the time, allowed just three offensive points, which predictably led for calls to fire head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Ironically, his offense, which has finally come to life since DeAndre Hopkins returned in Week 7 from a six-game suspension, could possibly put up 30-plus points in this one. Let’s look closer at what Hopkins can do to the Seahawks defense plus two additional advantages on the defensive side of the ball.
1 – Hopkins will continue to transform Arizona Cardinals offense
Since allowing just three offensive points against the Cardinals, the Seahawks have allowed just 36 points total. But with Hopkins entering the fold and making the entire offense look halfway decent, the Cardinals could send the Seahawks D back to the doldrums.
As I mentioned in a previous article, Hopkins has transformed this offense from at least a productivity standpoint. However, it remains to be seen whether Kingsbury’s lack of sound game management messes up what could otherwise be yet another powerful showing from the Cardinals offense now that Hopkins should be hitting his stride.
2 – Cardinals pass rush could reap benefits
While the Arizona Cardinals pass rush hasn’t logged many sacks, the Seahawks offense is giving them up 7.1% of the time, which is the 12th highest in the NFL. They also tend to lose huge chunks of yardage when an opposing pass rush gets to quarterback Geno Smith.
Of the 19 times opponents have sacked Smith, he has lost an average of 8.05 yards. That could force the Seahawks into second and third and long if the Cardinals take advantage and find ways to get to Smith.
3 – Cardinals D has an advantage in the red zone
Last week, we talked about how the Vikings didn’t often score touchdowns in the red zone. You can say the same for the Seahawks, who have scored red zone touchdowns just 40% of the time. If the Cardinals can relegate their division rivals to just field goals inside the 20, it could be an ultimate difference maker in this one.
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While the Arizona Cardinals are regressing faster than the Seahawks are progressing, there is, when you read between the lines, at least some hope that the Redbirds will pull off the upset. But they need to play a clean game and take full advantage of Seattle’s biggest weaknesses.
(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)
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