Seahawks Week 7 Matchup vs. Cardinals Flexed Into Prime Time
For the third time already this season, the Seahawks will be under the lights in prime time when they square off with the Cardinals in their NFC West opener on Sunday.
With the Las Vegas Raiders' entire starting offensive line currently being quarantined for potential exposure to COVID-19, the NFL announced their originally scheduled game against Tampa Bay would be slid into a 1:05 PM PST slot. Seeking a replacement, the league decided to go with an appetizing matchup between Seattle and Arizona, who will enter Sunday with 5-0 and 4-2 records respectively.
Following the unexpected switch, kickoff is now slated for 5:20 PM PST at State Farm Stadium and the game will be aired on NBC.
By making this last-minute change, which the NFL stated in a memo was "made out of an abundance of caution to ensure that a game would be available for fans on Sunday Night Football," the league now has additional flexibility for the Raiders-Buccaneers game in case there is a virus outbreak that forces postponement. For now, the game is expected to be played as scheduled until further notice.
The Seahawks and Cardinals have played several times in prime time recently, including an infamous Thursday night game during the 2017 season. Seattle won the game, but cornerback Richard Sherman suffered a torn Achilles and safety Kam Chancellor exited with a career-ending neck injury, marking the beginning of the end for the "Legion of Boom" secondary.
One year earlier, the two rivals met on Sunday Night Football in an ugly, uneventful, low-scoring affair in Glendale, with both teams missing field goals in overtime as the game concluded with a 6-6 tie.
Back in 2014, Marshawn Lynch bulldozed through cornerback Patrick Peterson during "Beast Quake II," sprinting 79 yards for a highlight reel touchdown run. Seattle won comfortably against a Carson Palmer-less Arizona team. Lynch rushed for 113 yards and two scores, while Russell Wilson threw for 339 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 35-6 blowout victory.
Considering all of the quirky things that have happened when these two teams have played in Arizona over the years, including Earl Thomas giving Pete Carroll the finger from a medical cart two years ago, expect the unexpected when these two talented teams duke it out once again on Sunday night.
