SEATTLE — The 11-3 Seattle Seahawks will look to maintain their lead in the NFC West with a win on Sunday vs. the 4-9-1 Arizona Cardinals at CenturyLink Field.
Seattle is coming off a 30-24 victory on the road against the Carolina Panthers. Chris Carson ran for a career-high 133 yards, Tyler Lockett had 120 yards receiving and K.J. Wright had two interceptions in the win.
>> Related: Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner selected as Pro Bowl starters
It was the Seahawks’ seventh road win this season - a franchise record.
Seattle’s win, coupled with the San Francisco 49ers’ loss to the Atlanta Falcons, moved the Seahawks back into first place in the NFC with two games to play.
The Cardinals are coming off a 38-24 win at home against the Cleveland Browns - a win that snapped a six-game losing streak. Kenyan Drake ran for 137 of the Cardinals’ 226 rushing yards and added four touchdowns in the win.
In their week four matchup earlier this season, the Seahawks beat the Cardinals 27-10. The 17-point win was the Seahawks’ largest margin of victory this season.
The Cardinals’ offense is ranked 23rd in the league, averaging 330 yards-per-game while their defense is ranked last in the league, giving up an average of 413.1 yards-per-game.
>> Related: Former Seahawk Cliff Avril takes kids on Christmas shopping spree
The Cardinals’ roster features a number of players that football fans in the Northwest will remember from their time in college.
Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker, linebacker Keishawn Bierria, tight end Darrell Daniels, cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. and linebacker Ezekiel Turner all played collegiately at the University of Washington. Safety Jalen Thompson played at Washington State University.
The Seahawks lead the all-time series against the Cardinals 21-19-1. Sunday’s game begins at 1:25 p.m.
Below are Steve Raible’s three keys to victory for the Seahawks on Sunday:
Key #1. The Pro Bowler and the Rook
A big congratulations to Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner for being selected as Pro Bowl starters. This key is all about Bobby.
Bobby is the leader and quarterback of the Seahawks’ defense and is having another great season -- his eighth straight season with 100 or more tackles.
The rook? That would be Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback Kyler Murray.
The franchise is betting its future on the Heisman Trophy winner and league’s number one overall draft pick. He hasn’t disappointed.
Murray is the only player in the NFL to throw for more than 3,000 yards and rush for over 500 yardds. He’s thrown for 17-touchdowns and has run for four more.
Wagner’s job is to get his defensive buddies in the right place and not give Murray any cheap scores. Make the rookie earn every yard. And don’t miss tackles.
Murray is going to be a good one. Wagner’s got to make sure it doesn’t start this week.
Key #2: Stone Jones
I know what you’re saying -- wasn’t he a middleweight boxer? Or a band from the 60′s? Good guesses on all, but no.
Chandler Jones is the Cardinals Pro Bowl outside linebacker. He’s tall, rangy and is the biggest pain in Russell Wilson’s backside this side of Aaron Donald.
Jones has sacked Wilson more than any other quarterback -- 9.5 times in just eight games!
Now, truth be told, he’s sacked a lot of QB’s. He led the NFL two seasons ago with 17 sacks. He comes to CenturyLink Field on Sunday with 15.
Jones will primarily line up over Hawks right tackle Germain Ifedi -- who in his fourth year has become a solid starter.
But Seattle will need to help him every-so-often with a tight end or running back.
Jones has at least one sack in seven of eight games against the Hawks. So they’re going to have to “stone” him -- stop him dead in his tracks to give Russell time to make his magic.
Key #3: Lock Up Budda
What a match-up this could be Sunday. Tqo of the most exciting young players in the game.
Seattle’s Tyler Lockett, healed and healthy and Russell Wilson’s favorite target, and the Cardinals’ Budda Baker, a former Husky All American and state football and track champion at Bellevue High school.
It’s not like these guys will face-off 'mano a mano’ for the whole game. But how many times have we seen Lockett outrace the safeties right down the middle of the field to score?
And Lockett is having his best season ever: 75 receptions for just under 1,000 yards and 7 touchdowns. Over his five years in the NFL, he’s averaging an amazing 36 yards-per-score.
Baker was just voted to the Pro Bowl, and even though he doesn’t have a pick this season, he’s second on the team with 125 tackles.
He’s physical, fearless, and loves to make plays at the line of scrimmage.
Which makes him vulnerable to Lockett scorching the Cardinals deep. I like Lock!