TNF: Battle of the Birds

Cardinals. Seahawks.

It's a short week for these divisional rivals as they go head-to-head tonight in Arizona. Seattle leads the NFC West with 5-1 record but they've had a difficult stretch the past few games. They have not been playing well on the road, as we saw with their one loss against the Colts in Indy two weeks ago. And despite their win on Sunday, it was much too close a game against the 3-3 Titans.
Will it be another nail-biter against the 3-3 Cardinals this week? Not if it looks anything like the last time these two teams met. Last year, the Cardinals suffered their biggest loss in franchise history against the Seahawks, 58-0.
Will the Cards be back with a vengeance tonight? Of course they will. This is definitely a game that was highlighted on every Cardinals' player's schedule. You don't forget a loss like that.  And with Arizona being undefeated at home so far this season, they could make it happen. WR Larry Fitzgerald is playing like he was never injured, leading his team in receiving yards and TD's, and accomplishing a season-high 117 yards last week. It will be interesting to see Fitzgerald and CB Richard Sherman go up against each other. Sherman has the ability to make game-changing plays, which will be very necessary tonight in AZ.
Good news for the Cardinals, defensive end, and my fellow UM friend, Calais Campbell, is expected back on the field tonight after suffering a neck injury last week against San Francisco. The Cards' defense will be key in tonight's game. Seattle QB, Russell Wilson, is tough to defend. He is not afraid to run the ball and gets tackled much less than other running QB's like RGIII and Michael Vick. But Wilson needs to throw the ball deep to complete more passes and score more points.

On the other side, Arizona QB, Carson Palmer, threw for 298 yards and 2 TD's last week but was intercepted twice. And 9 of his 11 interceptions this season were in the last 4 games. He can't afford to throw any tonight against the Seahawks or it's game over for Arizona. 

Seattle looks great on paper. They are 2nd in the league offensively, scoring over 26 points per game, but they need to be smart with the ball. Wilson has to trust his offense and deliver. I don't think it will be anything like last year's blowout win, but I do think Seattle will break their poor performance on the road tonight and take home a win.
Let Week 7 begin!


Don't forget to share your predictions, comments & questions before tonight's game. You can tweet me: @JenSomach.