The Arizona Cardinals host the Seattle Seahawks for their second of two division matches this season on Sunday for the top spot in the NFC West.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Can the Cardinals finally get a win vs. the Seahawks? ???? pic.twitter.com/l9jToEm4ij
— ESPN BET (@ESPNBET) December 6, 2024
There is something going on in The Valley with its second-year football coaches.
The Cardinals (6-6,2-1) sit in second place in the division in head coach Jonathan Gannon’s sophomore season with the team, after finishing last in the NFC North in 2023. Gannon is in position to mirror his fellow Valley football coach, Arizona State Football head coach Kenny Dillingham — who is taking his Sun Devils to their first college football playoff appearance with a first round bye in the College Football Playoff — and setup his team with a potential spot in the NFL playoffs with a win over the Seahawks (7-5,2-2).
The team sit neck-and-neck in their divisional race, with Seattle holding a one win advantage. The most important of those wins: A 16-6 defeat of Arizona in Week 12. It is the Cardinals only division loss this season.
Two weeks after the loss on the road, the Cardinals get their shot at redemption on their home turf. A win for Arizona would not just prevent a season sweep by their division foe — they take over the West.
Rematch. pic.twitter.com/KmmI7u3meF
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 8, 2024
Neither team had great offensive outings, seeing both teams quarterbacks (Arizona’s Kyler Murray and Seattle’s Geno Smith) throwing an interception. Both offensive generals threw for over 250 yards with Smith throwing the games lone touchdown to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Smith-Njigba led the Seahawks in receiving yards with six receptions for 77 yards.
Murray may not have been able to find the end zone, but he had no problem locating tight end Trey McBride.
McBride, the Cardinals’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, caught his first of back-to-back 12-reception games to set a new NFL record, leading all receivers with 133 receiving yards. Even with all those catches, Murray’s favorite target could not reach pay dirt, and hasn’t been able to all season. If there is any week that Murray decides to get his leading receiver across the goal line, it’s this one.
Neither team had true struggles in the pass, but the run game was a totally different story.
It was abysmal outing for both squads in their rushing attacks, both being held to less than 70 rushing yards. Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III’s struggles this season continued with a 41-yard performance off of 16 carries (2.6 yards per carry).
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, this was the game’s best rushing stat line.
Arizona backup running back Trey Benson led the Cardinals with 18 rushing yards on four carries (4.5 ypc). Starting running back James Conner was held to a limited 7 yards on 8 carries (1.1 ypc).
If either team wants to have a less stressful game than their previous meeting, their starting running backs are going to have to get back to their normal selves. If either can push out a game where they play to their usual capabilities, the NFC West will be in their respective team’s hands.
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Reporter Jordyn Bennett covers the Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix area sports and sports related topics. You can follow him on his X account, @j_bennett_live
