Arizona Favored in Sunday Night Showdown Against Seattle
Following the Seahawks controversial week 6 win against Matt Ryan’s Falcons, they head into Glendale looking to assert their dominance in the NFC West, and set the tone for the rest of the season. While the Seahawks are on top of their division with a record of 5-1, the Cardinals are Vegas’ favorite in the Sunday night showdown.
VegasInsider.com shows the Hawks between 1.5 or 2 point underdogs, which is quite alright with me. This team thrives off of adversity. Enjoys dwelling in the realm of the underdogs where the weight of the ever-present chips on their shoulders drives their performance. They are better when the talking heads of sports media say they can’t, they won’t, they’re not good enough.
But maybe Vegas is on to something.
Both the Seahawks and Cardinals head into Sunday plagued by major injuries. The status of Carson Palmer’s hamstring injury which caused him to leave Monday night’s game early, is still uncertain. Bruce Arians, Arizona head coach, believes he will be ready for the start on Sunday, however his nursing of an injury could limit his mobility against a hungry Seattle D.
The defense, will be without the foundational pillar of strong safety Kam Chancellor whose missing presence was glaringly against the Falcons. Without Chancellor’s guidance and communication tactics, the chemistry that defines the Seattle defense was missing. Kelcie McCray failed to transition into the veteran defense, coverage was blown, and Richard Sherman had a tantrum of truly epic proportions. You know the story. But the point is, this team is visibly weaker without Chancellor on the field. Restored communication between Kris Richard’s squad will be tantamount to overcoming Vegas’ odds.
Week 7 marks the second time in the 2016 season the Seahawks have not been favored in their matchup in the regular season; the last being their meeting with the Cardinals in 2015. In the face of national doubt, the underdogs dominated the Cardinals in a 36-6 win in Arizona Without the advantage of the 12’s on their home turf, the Seahawks will once again have to look to each other for support, and within themselves to turn doubt into victory.
Arguably, it is still too early to define this game as a must win to determine Seattle’s fate in the regular season, and potentially in the playoffs. But with the bulk of their schedule staring the banged-up Hawks in the face, a win in Arizona on a national scale could initiate momentum the team will need against their remaining opponents.
