This weekend the Seattle Seahawks (7-5) will be traveling to Glendale, Arizona to face off against the Arizona Cardinals (6-6) in their second matchup of the year. Just two weeks ago, the Seahawks beat the Cardinals in Seattle behind a stout defensive performance 16-6. This game will feature the two teams in first and second in the NFC West, and as such it will be a very important game for playoff appearance purposes. The key factors to this game for Seattle will be the defensive performance, the running game, and the offensive line.
In the first matchup between these two teams, it was the defense of Seattle that scored one of only two touchdowns on the day via a Coby Bryant interception return for a touchdown. They were also able to hold the Cardinals offense to only 49 yards on the ground, and Kyler Murray and the passing game could not win the game one-dimensionally. For Seattle to sweep the season series with Arizona will require a similarly stout defensive effort, though any help from the offense would obviously be greatly appreciated.
The Seattle running game has failed to establish itself for multiple weeks in a row at this point, only mustering 65 yards rushing in the first matchup with Arizona and 84 this past week against the New York Jets. While the Seahawks have won both of these games, it is clear that the run game needs to be better in order for the offense to truly move the ball at will. Ryan Grubb and company need to prioritize getting the ball to Kenneth Walker rather than splitting his reps with Zach Charbonnet, but at the same time they can’t abandon what is working in the run game. If running between the tackles is working, don’t start running wacky reverses, it kills all momentum and is likely to be a negative play. In order to run between the tackles though, the offensive line needs to step up.
Geno Smith has been sacked eight times in the last two weeks, which is a great way to injure Smith and derail a potentially special season for the Seahawks. The offensive line has to find a way to step up and work together as a unit to ideally hold Arizona to less than three sacks this week. If the offensive line can keep Smith upright, expect him to dice up this Arizona secondary.
Some other interesting storylines that should be kept in your head as you are watching this game next Sunday is how the tight end reps are split. Rookie AJ Barner has become more of a factor in the offense in recent weeks, scoring one of the two offensive touchdowns against the Jets. I would not start either of the Seattle tight ends, him or Noah Fant, in fantasy this week, but Barner could be an intriguing pickup for next year. I am also interested in how the wide receiver target share will look this week. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has become more and more of a central focus for the offense, and Geno Smith is starting to really favor JSN over both DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Pay attention to their target share as fantasy playoffs approach. Finally, Jason Myers is someone that needs to figure out what is wrong and stop the bleeding. He has missed an extra point in each of the last two games, leaving points on the field, which will ideally be addressed very soon.
At the end of the day, Geno Smith, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and DK Metcalf are the only three players that I would highly recommend starting this week. Kenneth Walker is someone who has become more touchdown dependent recently so depending on the other running backs you have he could also be a good start. Also, the defense and special teams could be a good pickup if you believe that they will be able to replicate their performance from two weeks ago. Other than that, I would not recommend starting any other players on this Seahawks team.