• Slug: Sports–Arizona Cardinals Update, 760 words.
• Photo available.

By James Morel
Cronkite News

TEMPE – It may not be a bird or a plane but football will soar to the gloomy skies of the Pacific Northwest this Sunday as the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks meet in a pivotal NFC West matchup.

The Cardinals, coming off a bye week of mental relaxation and physical rejuvenation, travel to Seattle for a key game against a rival team that went toe-to-toe last week with the defending NFC West champions, the San Francisco 49ers, winning 20-17.

While most teams would hate to have a bye during a stretch of success, Arizona wide receiver Michael Wilson believes it was exactly what the Cardinals needed.

“I think it allows you to reset and get away from the game,” Wilson said Monday. “We feel our bye couldn’t have come at a better time.”

With a 6-4 record and a tentative hold on first place in the NFC West, the Cardinals are in the middle of their hottest season since 2021, when they entered the bye week at 9-2. This time, however, the Cardinals will look to dodge the late-season collapse they faced in 2021, when they won two of their last six games following the bye and then lost a wild-card elimination game against the Los Angeles Rams.

So yes, the division lead is nice, but Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon made it very clear that the team is focusing only on the second half of the season, saying “They’re not thinking about the last seven games, they’re thinking about Seattle.”

The Seahawks (5-5) have a chance to beat Arizona at Seattle’s Lumen Field and really shake things up in a tight division. With a win over the Cardinals, Seattle would hijack the Cardinals’ NFC West lead.

The Seahawks found themselves 3-0 at the start of the season but quickly fell to .500. Since that stretch of losses, Seattle has remained afloat and competitive in the NFC West, with an offense that is sputtering and a defense that is creating mistakes.

“It’s a good defense,” Gannon said. “They’re playing well.”

Since their Week 6 loss against San Francisco, the Seahawks defense has averaged 1.5 turnovers per game, with five of the six turnovers being interceptions against quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Kirk Cousins, Brock Purdy and Matthew Stafford. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray will look to beat the odds as he hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 7 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Murray’s consistent high-end play throughout the season has earned him lofty praise from fellow teammates, including Wilson, who said, “When he’s playing like that, I don’t see any quarterback being better than him.”

Murray opens the second half of his season with just over 2,000 yards passing, 371 rushing yards, and 16 total touchdowns with only three interceptions.

“He doesn’t throw to the other team,” Gannon said. “You trust him to make the right decision.”

The Cardinals contribute their success to their off-field mentality and ability to come together as a unit to achieve the one goal that matters, winning.

“I love the makeup of our team,” Wilson said. “It’s refreshing when you play with a group of guys who leave their egos at the door.”

The Seahawks are historically known as a challenging team to beat at home and the Cardinals know it will take every player Sunday to defuse the looming threat of the “12th man,” Seattle’s rabid fanbase.

“Big time test,” Gannon said Wednesday. “On the road, hard place to play, it’s loud.”

It’s a raucous, intimidating environment the Cardinals know well, with Gannon saying, “That’s something that we have to handle on offense.” Since Murray’s rookie season in 2019, the Cardinals are 2-3 on the road against the Seahawks. In the last two road meetings with Seattle, the Cardinals have not been able to crack more than 10 points.

Though the Cardinals are 2-2 on the road this season, they are no stranger to playing in hostile environments such as Buffalo, Green Bay, Miami and San Francisco. The Seahawks, meanwhile, have had below-average success at home this season, winning only two of their six games this year at Lumen Field, with victories over the Broncos and Dolphins.

After 10 weeks, the Cardinals have put themselves in a prime position to have a real shot at the playoffs but the players know the postseason is not a lock. The Cardinals face four division opponents in their last seven games and are currently in control of their fate.

The Cardinals know what lies in store Sunday and while the road may be hazy they feel that every week they continue to get better.

“Eventually,” as Wilson said, “the cream rises to the top.”

For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.