The Seattle Seahawks are still in the mix in an incredibly tight NFC West division race. Seattle is 5-5 heading into Week 12 along with everyone else in their division aside from their opponent in Arizona. The Cardinals only hold a one-game lead over the rest of the division, which makes it one of the tightest division races in recent memory in the NFL.
Considering how close each team is to each other, head-to-head games and tie-breakers will likely be very important come playoff time.
Seattle has a golden opportunity to get a huge win on Sunday against Arizona. Beating the Cardinals could propel the Seahawks back into the lead in the NFC West, someplace they haven’t been since early in the season. These two teams also play each other again in a few weeks, so it will be interesting to see how much each team reveals in this first matchup.
Do the Seahawks have what it takes to take care of business against an up-and-down Cardinals team? Or will they drop a huge division game during a crucial stretch of the regular season?
Below we will explore three Seahawks bold predictions ahead of their Week 12 matchup against the Cardinals.
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Geno Smith plays well against the Cardinals but commits two ugly turnovers
Geno Smith continues to chase the greatness of his 2022 campaign.
Smith has already proven that he is worthy of being the starter in Seattle. He is on his third season as the team’s franchise QB and the second season after signing a lucrative extension.
Smith has not played poorly in 2024, but his numbers do not look like a franchise quarterback’s. He has 2,781 yards for 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions through 10 games played.
I see Geno Smith having a very typical performance against the Cardinals. Nothing flashy, a few mistakes, but enough to get the job done with some help.
My prediction: Geno Smith will not be asked to play too much hero ball against the Cardinals on Sunday. Instead, the Seahawks will ask him to manage the game and try to control the clock with several running plays. Smith will play well in that capacity, keeping Seattle’s offense in rhythm and scoring on more than half of their drives. However, he will commit two costly turnovers (likely interceptions) that will give the Cardinals some life in the second half.
Kenneth Walker III pounds the Cardinals defense for a career day
Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks have never tried to hide that Kenneth Walker III is one of their most important players on offense.
Macdonald specifically put the NFL on notice during the preseason, giving glowing sound bites that made the running back sound like a league winner in fantasy football.
Walker III has been great when healthy in 2024. He has 113 carries for 452 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in eight games played. However, he was basically nonexistent in two of those eight games.
Not only do I see Kenneth Walker III having a big game on Sunday, I believe it will be a career-best for the young running back.
My prediction: Kenneth Walker III will surpass his career-best single-game rushing record of 167 rushing yards on Sunday. I see Walker III going for at least 175 rushing yards and at least two touchdowns against a weak Cardinals run defense. Arizona knows that he will be an important part of the plan for Seattle, but that won’t be enough to stop him.
Seattle’s defense is disruptive, but has no answer for Kyler Murray’s scrambling
Seattle is one of several teams deploying a version of Mike Macdonald’s defense that was used in Baltimore last season.
The Seahawks have had a good deal of success adapting to the system, especially considering their relative lack of talent in their front seven. Thankfully, Macdonald has aggressively addressed that area of the team during the season. Most notably by trading for Ernest Jones IV from the Titans.
I believe the Seahawks will succeed at stifling the more traditional elements of the Cardinals’ offense. However, QB Kyler Murray will still be able to do his thing on out-of-structure plays.
My prediction: The Seahawks are able to stop the Cardinals from getting into a consistent rhythm on offense. I don’t see the Cardinals scoring on many long, sustained drives against the Seahawks. Instead, Arizona will score its points on explosive plays. At least one of those will come from QB Kyler Murray, who will rack up at least 50 rushing yards on scrambles and score at least one touchdown during an off-script play.
The post Seattle Seahawks bold predictions for Week 12 vs. Cardinals appeared first on ClutchPoints.
