Rejoice NFL fans! Finally, a Thursday Night Football game to look forward to, as the Arizona Cardinals travel to CenturyLink Field for a pivotal game for control of the NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks, Cardinals, and Rams all sit at 6-3 in the NFC West, making each and every divisional game all that much more important. The last time these two teams met just a few weeks ago, they did not disappoint, with the Cardinals handing the Seahawks their first loss on the season in a 37-34 overtime thriller. In a game where we saw over 1,000 yards of total offense, 732 of those yards coming through the air.
Seattle has struggled since their week 7 loss to the Cardinals, losing 2 of their last 3 games with quarterback Russell Wilson throwing 4 interceptions in a span of those 3 games.
As for Arizona, they come into this game coming off another thrilling win over the Buffalo Bills. Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins hauled in the go-ahead 43-yard touchdown reception over three Buffalo defenders with 0:02 seconds remaining in the game completing the remarkable “Hail Murray”.
The two teams have had a very even rivalry since both joining the NFC West as the all-time series is tied between the two at 21-21-1. Though the Arizona Cardinals have not completed a season sweep over the Seattle Seahawks since the 2009 season. They will look to break that streak and complete the season sweep this Thursday.
Fans can expect a lot of scoring on Thursday as these two top offenses clash. Arizona’s offense ranks first in total offense and first in rushing, thanks largely in part to quarterback Kyler Murray. Murray has over 600 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. The first quarterback with 10 rushing touchdowns since Cam Newton’s MVP campaign in 2015.
There is only so much Russell Wilson can do for the Seahawks. Their offense ranks 5th in the NFL, but their defense ranks 32nd and have allowed over 21 points in and each and every game this season.
The Cardinals come into this game as slight underdogs, and I am going to roll with the underdogs in this one. The number 1 ranked offense in the league facing off against the 32nd ranked defense tells the story. In a game where we can expect a lot of points, the Cardinals are better equipped to compete in a shootout, roll with the underdogs in this one.