5 Matchups to Watch in Seahawks' Week 18 Finale vs. Cardinals
Hoping to close out a disappointing season in strong fashion by preventing their rivals from capturing an NFC West title, the Seahawks will wrap up the 2021 season traveling to the desert to face the Cardinals in Week 18.
Seattle has a bit of momentum going into the final week after thumping Detroit 51-29 behind four Russell Wilson touchdown passes and a 170-yard outing by Rashaad Penny. Snapping a three-game losing streak, Arizona righted the ship with a 25-22 win over Dallas to stay alive in the hunt for a division title.
With much on the line for the Cardinals and the Seahawks aiming to play the role of spoiler, which matchups will dictate who wins the season finale at State Farm Stadium?
--Seahawks tackles Duane Brown and Jake Curhan versus Cardinals defensive ends Chandler Jones and Markus Golden: By his standards, Jones hasn't had his best season, producing only 4.5 sacks in his last 13 games after exploding with 5.0 sacks in a season-opening win over the Titans. But he still has 34 pressures and 20 quarterback hits during that span and he has been a persistent nuisance for the Seahawks over the years, racking up 15.5 sacks in 10 career regular season games against them, including 1.5 sacks in Week 11 earlier this year. In his second stint in Arizona, Golden has re-emerged as a potent edge rusher in his own right, leading the team with 11.0 sacks and producing 40 quarterback pressures this season. Both players will be a problem for Seattle's tackles, particularly the undrafted rookie Curhan, whose biggest issue in his four previous starts has been pass protecting against twitchy, athletic rushers. Beaten with a speed rush, he allowed a sack blocking against Golden seven weeks ago. Brown himself has endured his share of struggles working against Jones as well, yielding six pressures and a sack against him. If the Seahawks have any intentions of pulling the upset, they will have to keep each edge rusher in check to give Russell Wilson time to throw.
--Seahawks safety Josh Jones versus Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz: Entering the season, one of the Cardinals few questions marks on offense remained at tight end, but the team made an underrated move addressing that flaw by dealing for Ertz in October and the veteran has been an outstanding addition. Since joining the team, he's reeled in 49 catches for 490 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games, providing quite the complement to Arizona's star-studded receiving corps. His best game came in Seattle in Week 11, as the athletic tight end abused the Seahawks secondary with eight receptions for 88 yards and two scores. He posted those numbers against a defense at full strength at the time with safety Jamal Adams and backup Ryan Neal available. Both be inactive for this rematch with Adams on injured reserve and Neal on the COVID-19 list. While Jones has more than 20 NFL starts under his belt, he has bounced around with four different teams in large part due to issues in coverage. From a size standpoint, he matches up fairly well with Ertz, but change of direction and quickness concerns could turn this into a major mismatch that favors the Cardinals.
--Seahawks guards Damien Lewis/Gabe Jackson/Phil Haynes and center Ethan Pocic versus Cardinals defensive tackles Corey Peters and Leki Fotu: After a rough start defending the run, the Cardinals have made tremendous strides as evidenced by limiting the Cowboys to 45 rushing yards and 2.6 yards per carry last weekend. Still, they have allowed more than 100 yards rushing nine times and opponents average north of 4.4 yards per carry this year against them and there's a chance Arizona could be without Jordan Phillips and Zach Allen, leaving them depleted in the interior defensive line. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have found their groove running the football with Rashaad Penny producing over 500 yards in the past five games ripping off explosive runs behind a physical offensive line. Jackson (knee) may not be available at right guard this weekend for Seattle, but Haynes played well in Lewis' absence a week ago and will be ready to step in at the other guard spot if needed, while Pocic has played some of his best football as of late. Establishing the run between the tackles would open up the play action passing game and help prevent Arizona's edge rushers from being able to pin their ears back hunting Wilson.
--Seahawks cornerbacks D.J. Reed, Sidney Jones, and Ugo Amadi versus Cardinals receivers A.J. Green, Antoine Wesley, and Christian Kirk: If Arizona was at full strength at receiver, this would likely be a matchup favoring the home team. But with DeAndre Hopkins on injured reserve and rookie Rondale Moore ruled out this week, quarterback Kyler Murray will be missing two of his best weapons on the outside against a cornerback tandem in Reed and Jones that has been as good as any in the league in the second half of the season. Still, Murray does have two big receivers in Green and Wesley, who each stand 6-foot-4 and have at least a four-inch height advantage over Reed and Jones. Green has enjoyed quite a bounce-back season, catching 50 balls for 825 yards and a 16.5 yards per catch average, while Wesley has three touchdown receptions in the past two games and has been a red zone problem. Ultimately, however, Kirk may be the receiver Seattle is most concerned about. He's caught 22 passes for 201 yards and a score in the past three games and given his ability to do damage both from the outside and the slot, Murray will likely be looking for him early and often on Sunday. This should be an intriguing matchup across the board for both teams.
--Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson versus Cardinals safeties Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson: It's not often that a chess match between a quarterback and safeties warrants attention as a critical matchup, but the Cardinals have one of the best safety tandems in the game and Wilson has had his share of hiccups facing this secondary in the past. Baker, a former First-Team All-Pro, intercepted Wilson last season, famously getting tracked down by receiver DK Metcalf inside the Seahawks' 10-yard line. He currently ranks second on the team behind cornerback Byron Murphy with three interceptions. As for Thompson, while he did give up a 48-yard reception to Tyler Lockett in Week 11, he also registered a pass breakup against Metcalf and leads the team in that department with four PBUs this year. Both safeties have the ability to line up all over the field for Arizona and make plays as ball hawks in coverage as well as defending the run. Once in a blue moon, they'll occasionally come on the blitz too. Wilson will have to know where both players are at all times and be careful not to get baited into potential interceptions.
