Key Matchups to Watch as Seahawks, Cardinals Square Off on Thursday Night Football
Back in action in quick order after a decisive win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 3, Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks will attempt to push their winning streak to three games when they take their show on the road for a prime time battle with Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football.
Through the first three weeks, both the Seahawks and Cardinals have opened with a 2-1 record, sitting in a three-way tie behind the 49ers in the NFC West. Arizona suffered its first loss in Santa Clara last weekend, falling in a 16-15 heartbreaker, while Seattle enjoyed a dominant 31-point win over New Orleans coming off an impressive road win in Pittsburgh.
With both teams hoping to avoid 0-2 starts within the division, here are six key positional matchups to watch when the Seahawks and Cardinals rekindle their rivalry at State Farm Stadium:
Seahawks defensive tackles Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, and Byron Murphy versus Cardinals guards Evan Brown and Isaiah Adams, center Hjalte Froholdt: Thus far through three weeks, few teams - if any - have improved more in pass protection than Arizona. Pro Football Focus has the Cardinals’ offensive line ranked fourth in pass blocking grade (70.1) and ESPN grades them even more favorably in Pass Block Win Rate (75 percent), good for second best in the NFL. In the interior, Adams has only allowed three pressures in three games, Froholdt has only allowed two, and though Brown has given up more than twice as many (seven), none of the three have allowed a sack on Kyler Murray. The trio of players, assuming Brown plays with a questionable designation on the injury report, will be tested big-time on Thursday, however, by a veteran-laden Seahawks defensive line that has created major problems for them in the past.
When Seattle came to town last November, Brown got exposed by his former team, allowing six pressures, while former starting right guard Trystan Colon gave up a quarterback hit and three pressures and Froholdt allowed a pair of sacks from the pivot position. Williams in particular destroyed the Cardinals’ interior, stacking seven pressures and two sacks in an utterly dominant performance, regularly toying with Brown with his power and underrated quickness. Reed also added a pair of pressures, helping make Murray uncomfortable and forcing the quarterback into an ugly rushed interception. Making this matchup potentially more advantageous for the Seahawks, Murphy has 2.5 sacks in his last two games and has broke out as a pass rusher in his sophomore season, providing a three-headed monster for the home team to worry about disrupting their game plan.
Seahawks guards Grey Zabel and Anthony Bradford, center Jalen Sundell versus Cardinals defensive ends Calais Campbell and Darius Robinson, nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson: Moreso than past matchups between these teams, the outcome may be especially dependent on trench play on both sides, as Thursday night will provide quite the litmus test for Zabel and whoever starts at the other guard position. Bradford received a questionable designation with a back injury on Wednesday’s final report, and under such circumstances, Macdonald has already been on the record saying Sundell would slide to guard and center Olu Oluwatimi would check into the lineup. Whether that has to happen or not remains to be seen, but regardless of who lines up next to Zabel, the interior faces a significant challenge after allowing no sacks as a group facing underwhelming and/or inexperienced defensive fronts in two of the first three games.
Still playing at an incredibly high level at 39 years of age, Campbell already has notched two sacks and ranks seventh in ESPN’s Pass Rush Win Rate for defensive tackles while playing more than 40 snaps apiece at both nose tackle and 3-tech defensive tackle, proving to still pack a mean pass rushing punch. Tomlinson has also offered surprising pass rushing contributions with a 10 percent Pass Rush Win Rate and five pressures, while Robinson’s athletic upside as a 2024 first round pick has yet to be fully realized but there have been plenty of flashes. All three of those players offer different skill sets and can do damage from multiple alignments, and coupling their talents with the aggressive blitzing approach employed by Arizona, communication and physicality will be both be crucial for the Seahawks to hold up in pass protection and as run blockers from the guard and center spots.
Seahawks safeties Julian Love, Coby Bryant, and Ty Okada/D’Anthony Bell versus Cardinals tight end Trey McBride: After playing without Love against the Saints last week, the Seahawks will happily welcome back their Pro Bowl safety in a contest where they could ill-afford to have him on the sidelines again due to the presence of McBride, one of the best pass catching tight ends in the sport. In their last matchup in Glendale, Love allowed three catches on four targets defending McBride for 27 yards, but only one of those receptions went for a first down and 18 of those yards came on a single catch. Still, the rest of the team had their share of issues containing the athletic, soft-handed weapon, who snagged 12 passes for 133 yards with a whopping 76 yards after the catch and eight first downs.
Like any elite tight end, McBride will make his share of plays running routes from inline, the slot, and the boundary, as he has remained a focal point in Arizona’s passing game with 17 receptions through three games to this point. But for the Seahawks to keep him from erupting, they will need to pick and choose when to be physical with him off the line on releases and mix in some bracket coverage and double team looks to provide additional support against him. Most importantly, when he does catch the ball, getting him to the ground and preventing him from using his long strides and contact balance to pick up big yardage with the ball in tow will be crucial, as he forced two missed tackles in that last game. If the safeties can lead the charge limiting his damage after the catch and force him to win in contested catch situations consistently, that will be a big boon for the defense.
Seahawks receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and Tory Horton versus Cardinals cornerbacks Max Melton, Denzel Burke, and Kei’Trel Clark: Arizona has been in the middle of the pack through three games in both touchdown passes allowed (four) and explosive pass plays allowed (20), according to TruMedia, but their cornerbacks have generally been decent in that span. Rookie Will Johnson, a second-round pick out of Michigan, produced four pass breakups in the first two weeks with no touchdowns given up before suffering a groin injury that likely will keep him out on Thursday night. Minus Johnson and Garrett Williams, who currently is on injured reserve, the Cardinals will lean on Melton, Burke, and Clark to pick up the slack. None of those three have allowed a touchdown in coverage so far and each has one pass breakup, but they also have allowed 13 or more yards per reception apiece.
This could be an issue against the Seahawks, who have been breaking out the dynamite in the passing game with 17 explosive plays, tied for the second most in the NFL. Smith-Njigba has led the charge with eight explosive receptions, the most of any wideout in the league, while Kupp isn’t far behind him with five explosive receptions so far. Seattle’s top two receivers have done that damage much differently, with Smith-Njigba winning vertically several times, including a 45-yard reception last week, and Kupp producing several 16-plus yard catches attacking the middle of the field on digs, crossers, and curls with after the catch production. Both of those veterans could have ideal matchups with two of Arizona’s top corners out, but keep an eye on Horton, who has a touchdown each of the past two games and offers the size and speed to create a mismatch against the Cardinals’ smaller boundary defenders.
Seahawks linebackers Ernest Jones, Tyrice Knight, and Drake Thomas versus Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, running backs Trey Benson and Emari Demercado: In the past, James Conner has been a thorn in Seattle’s side out of the backfield, but Arizona unfortunately will be without the physical, hard-nosed runner for the remainder of the season after undergoing ankle surgery. His absence leaves a significant void, as he has been the heartbeat of the Cardinals offense for several years. However, he was only averaging three yards per carry and Benson has been the far more productive back this year with a six yards per carry average and a 52-yard long, so he may bring more juice to the backfield at this stage. Demercado hasn’t logged a carry yet this year, but has 37 career receptions and could be a part of the game plan as a receiving option, while Murray’s elusiveness and speed remain a trademark of his game that makes him difficult to defend and requires spy assignments to keep tabs on him.
Last season, the Seahawks did a fantastic job of making the Cardinals’ run game one-dimensional, holding Murray to 25 combined rushing yards in two meetings. That’s a testament to the impact of Jones’ arrival, as the veteran linebacker tallied 18 tackles in those contests along with an interception, along with Knight’s emergence as a viable starter in the second half of his rookie season. Both of those players will once again be tasked with monitoring the dual threat quarterback as a scrambler, which will be easier said than done, especially against improvised extended pass plays where he breaks out of the pocket. Keeping him from being an escape artist and limiting his effectiveness as a runner will be crucial, as his success on the ground opens up the whole playbook and will make it tougher to defend Benson and Demercado in the traditional run game.
Seahawks tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas versus Cardinals outside linebackers Josh Sweat, Baron Browning, and Zaven Collins: While Arizona doesn’t have an alpha superstar pass rusher off the edge and has yet to welcome back BJ Ojulari from injury, defensive coordinator Nick Rallis has a fun stable of veterans at his disposal who he can unleash in his scheme. Arriving via free agency from the Super Bowl champion Eagles, Sweat has provided an immediate jolt up front with 11 pressures, two sacks, and a 20 percent Pass Rush Win Rate, while Browning has thrived in his first full season in the desert with a team-best 14 pressures and a sack. Now the elder statesman of the group, Collins has remained a factor as well, racking up a team-best four quarterback hits off eight pressures while also adding three run stops setting a firm edge in the first three games. In addition, rookie Jordan Burch has given the team a lift as a rotational rusher with six pressures.
Mixing and matching those four versatile players who have all been effective as both pass rushers and run defenders thus far, Cross and Lucas will have their hands full dealing with an edge rush group featuring vastly different skill sets. If there’s something working in Seattle’s favor, however, Cross has been borderline dominant in pass protection through three games and already has held up well against the likes of Nick Bosa and Carl Granderson in the first three weeks. Lucas has been a bit more inconsistent coming back from two injury-marred seasons, but he still has been rock solid allowing six pressures in three games and his physicality and power in the run game could create issues for a smaller defender like Browning, who comes in at under 250 pounds. This matchup has a chance to sway either way and depending on who wins more battles, could hold the key to whether the Seahawks or Cardinals come out on top.
