Two NFC West rivals battle it out on "Thursday Night Football" to begin Week 10, as the Seattle Seahawks (5-3) play on the road at the University of Phoenix Stadium against the Arizona Cardinals (4-4). They currently sit second and third in the division looking up at the Los Angeles Rams (6-2).
Seattle is coming off a disappointing 17-14 loss to the Washington Redskins last Sunday. Kicker Blair Walsh missed all three of his field goal attempts, and the defense allowed Washington’s last drive to go 70 yards on four plays for a touchdown.
The Cardinals have now alternated a loss with a win in all eight of their games after a 20-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 9.
It was a vintage Adrian Peterson performance as he finished with 37 carries for 159 yards.
Seahawks offense
Passing leader: Russell Wilson 188-of-303 (62.0 percent), 2,305 yards, 17 TD, six INT
Rushing leader: Russell Wilson 46 carries, 271 yards (5.9 y/c), one TD
Receiving leader: Doug Baldwin 49 receptions, 538 yards, three TD
The Seahawks currently ranks 10th in the NFL averaging 23.6 Points Per Game. They had scored at least 24 points in four of their last five games before scoring just 14 in last Sunday’s loss. The offensive turnovers have become more frequent as the season has gone along. They had just one in the first three games but eight in their last five.
Quarterback Russell Wilson has thrown both touchdowns and interceptions at a higher rate as the season has gone along.
He has five multi-touchdown pass games in his last six outings but also has six interceptions in his last five games.
The Seahawks have needed Wilson’s touchdowns because they rank near the bottom of the league with just two rushing touchdowns. Both of those came in a Week 4 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Cardinals defense
Tackles leader: Tyson Branch (69)
Sacks leader: Chandler Jones (nine)
Interceptions leader: Antoine Bethea (three)
The Cardinals placed 27th out of 32 teams in allowing 25.1 points per game. In their wins, they have allowed 17.8 points per game. It has been a much different story in their losses where they have given up 32.5 points per game.
Their pass defense sits around league-average in many categories, but they have been giving up more yards as teams have been avoiding shutdown cornerback Patrick Patterson. The Cardinals have allowed at least 266 passing yards in three of their last four games.
Arizona’s run defense has been mostly successful in allowing just two opponents this season to gain 100+ yards on the ground. That doesn’t bode well for a Seahawks team that is still looking for an identity in the run game, as their leading rusher is quarterback Russell Wilson.
Cardinals offense
Passing leader: Carson Palmer (injured) 164-of-267 (61.4 percent), 1,978 yards, nine TD, seven INT
Rushing leader: Adrian Peterson 74 carries, 314 yards (4.2 y/c), two TD
Receiving leader: Larry Fitzgerald 50 receptions, 564 yards, three TD
Arizona has struggled to put points on the board much of the season, and that was with Carson Palmer behind center most of the year.
The Cardinals have scored 21+ points just twice in 2017, and their 17.4 points per game ranks 26th.
Drew Stanton will make his second start of the year behind center and the 15th of his 10-year career. He hasn’t been very accurate in his time during 2017 or the two previous seasons. He has thrown 117 passes during the last three years completing only 42.7 percent of them with four touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The Cardinals’ run game has been nearly nonexistent after losing David Johnson to injury until they acquired Adrian Peterson via trade. He wasn’t much of a factor against the Rams in Week 7, but in his other two games with the club, he has been a workhorse. The 32-year-old has 63 carries in those two outings for 293 yards and two touchdowns.
Seahawks defense
Tackles leader: Bobby Wagner (72)
Sacks leader: Michael Bennett (6.5)
Interceptions leader: Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman (two)
The Seahawks currently allow the fifth-least points per game at 18.6. They have forced 12 turnovers in their last five games after forcing only two in their first three.
Besides Texans’ quarterback Deshaun Watson’s epic performance in a passing shootout with Russell Wilson, Seattle’s pass defense has remained superb as usual. They are also averaging nearly three sacks a game which is tied for eighth-most in football.
The Seahawks led the NFL allowing just 3.4 yards per carry in 2016, but opposing teams are posting nearly a yard more at 4.3 through eight games in 2017. They have shut down both the Giants and Redskins’ ground games recently, but neither of those teams is notorious for having a strong running attack.
