SEATTLE (8-8) at ARIZONA (4-12)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, Fox
BETTING LINE: Seahawks by 2 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Seahawks 8-6-2; Cardinals 8-8.
SERIES RECORD: Seattle leads 26-22-1.
LAST MEETING: Seahawks beat Cardinals 20-10 on Oct. 22, 2023, at Seattle.
LAST WEEK: Steelers beat Seahawks 30-23; Cardinals beat Eagles 35-31.
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE: OVERALL (20), RUSH (29), PASS (14), SCORING (17)
SEAHAWKS DEFENSE: OVERALL (27), RUSH (30), PASS (19), SCORING (24)
CARDINALS OFFENSE: OVERALL (24), RUSH (6), PASS (29), SCORING (24)
CARDINALS DEFENSE: OVERALL (26), RUSH (32), PASS (13), SCORING (31)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Seahawks plus-2; Cardinals minus-1
SEAHAWKS PLAYER TO WATCH: What happens with veteran LB Bobby Wagner going forward will be one of the questions of the offseason, which could come sooner than later if Seattle doesn’t get the help it needs. Wagner’s return to Seattle after one season with the Rams has been terrific in the community and it’s been pretty good on the field. Wagner will go into the season finale with 168 total tackles and 3½ sacks. And Wagner said this week he has every intension of continuing to play, but the unknown is if the Seahawks want to bring him back again at age 34.
CARDINALS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB James Conner is having one of the best years of his career and can hit 1,000 yards rushing for the season if he runs for 110 yards against the Seahawks. Conner ran for 128 yards and a touchdown in last week’s win over the Eagles, averaging nearly 5 yards per carry. The 28-year-old is a big reason the Cardinals rank sixth in the NFL in rushing.
KEY MATCHUP: The Cardinals’ running game — led by Conner and Michael Carter — has been steady all season and racked up 221 yards last week against the Eagles. Arizona will try to use that strength against a Seattle run defense that’s been a little shaky, giving up an average of nearly 160 yards over the past 11 games, which ranks near the bottom of the league.
KEY INJURIES: Seattle is unlikely to have right tackle Abe Lucas because of continued problems with a balky knee that knocked him out at halftime last week. Center Evan Brown is in concussion protocol and his status won’t be known until the end of the week. LB Jordyn Brooks (ankle) was inactive against the Steelers but is expected to return. … Cardinals OT D.J. Humphries tore the ACL in his left knee against the Eagles. LB Dennis Gardeck (knee), CB Garrett Williams (ankle) and DL Dante Stills (knee) are also dealing with injuries and didn’t practice on Wednesday.
SERIES NOTES: The Seahawks have won eight of the past 11 games vs. the Cardinals, including the past four in a row.
STATS AND STUFF: The Seahawks clinch a playoff spot with a win and a loss by the Packers. It would be Seattle’s 11th playoff appearance in 14 seasons under coach Pete Carroll with a win, but a loss would be the second time in three seasons missing the playoffs. … QB Geno Smith needs two TD passes to reach 20 for the season, although he missed two games because of injury. Smith threw for 30 touchdowns last season. … WR DK Metcalf had five catches for 106 yards last week to top the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season and third time in his career. Metcalf has a TD catch in four straight road games. … WR Tyler Lockett had a season-low one catch for 10 yards last week against Pittsburgh. Lockett needs 77 yards receiving to reach 8,000 for his career. Lockett has seven TD catches in his past seven games vs. the Cardinals. … The Seahawks run defense is allowing 159.1 yards per game rushing over the past 11 games. … Despite the defensive problems, the Seahawks three Pro Bowl selections were all on defense: Wagner, rookie CB Devon Witherspoon and S Julian Love. … DE Boye Mafe can become the first Seahawks player with double-digit sacks since 2018 with one more sack. … Wagner needs three tackles to set a career high of 171 in a season. … Love has topped 100 tackles for the season despite playing less than 50% of the defensive snaps in four games this season. … K Jason Myers needs two made field goals to set a career high and franchise record. Myers had 34 field goals last season. … The Cardinals have a 3-4 record since QB Kyler Murray returned from an ACL injury. Murray has thrown for 1,537 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions in those seven games. … Arizona ran for 221 yards against the Eagles last week. It was the first time the Eagles had given up more than 200 yards on the ground in 49 games. … The average age of the Cardinals this season is 26.26 years old, which is the third youngest in the NFL behind Green Bay and Indianapolis. … TE Trey McBride has 78 catches this season, which is already a franchise record for a tight end by a large margin.
FANTASY TIP: Cardinals WR Greg Dortch could be a good flex play if he’s still available on the waiver wire. Dortch didn’t catch a pass in eight of the first nine games this season, but has become a bigger part of the offense over the past six weeks. He had a season-high seven catches for 82 yards against the Eagles last weekend.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
