Thursday Night – Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals

In Week 9, the football week kicks off with the Seattle Seahawks traveling to Glendale, AZ to take on the Arizona Cardinals. Anyone remember what happened the last time these teams met in Glendale? That’s right, they played to a 6-6 tie in one of the most awkward and unusual football games we’ve seen this century. I have to believe that this year’s matchup will be a bit more interesting and probably won’t end in a tie. I hope.

Keys to the Game

Seahawks

The key to beating the Cardinals this year revolves around containing running back David Johnson. The issue is that Johnson is very versatile and can’t beat you between the tackles, on the outside and in the passing game. Seattle will have to be vigilant, but disciplined enough not to overcommit and get beat on misdirection plays. Limiting Johnson will surely limit the Arizona offense as a whole, making life easy for Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense. At that point, they won’t need to press too much in order to get a W.

Cardinals

It’s going to be a tough one for Arizona. They’re going to need great games from Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson on offense in order to score enough on Thursday night. Big plays will be necessary from both offensive stars in order to find success against that stingy Seattle defense. The Cardinals have enough playmakers on defense to give Seattle fits and maybe even gain an advantage through turnovers. Patrick Peterson could be a deciding factor here.