Seahawks, Cardinals tune up for playoffs

The Arizona Cardinals have a shot at the top seed in the NFC with a victory here.

The Seahawks are 5-1 SU and ATS in their last six games.

Possible playoff seeding is all that’s at stake when the teams meet in their regular-season finale Sunday. With a (slim) chance at the NFC’s No. 1 seed, Arizona comes in needing it more and playing better than Seattle after their dismantling of Green Bay last week.

In that November 15 win at Seattle, Arizona bolted to a 19-0 lead, then fell behind 29-25 before scoring two late touchdowns, the victor coming on Andre Ellington’s 48-yard run with 4:04 to play.

Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson is actually second on the team with 540 rushing yards and his legs will be needed if the Seahawks hope to spring an upset in the desert. Cardinals coach Bruce Arians promoted the 37-year-old Bettcher, who had been outside linebackers coach for the past two seasons. “I’m going to keep working and get ready for the playoffs”. “It’s such a good opponent and they’re so loaded up in so many areas that they make us have to play well”.

“When you talk about franchise records, especially one that’s been around as long as this one”, Arians said. The backup defensive backs must play well because the Seahawks are using more empty-back sets and throwing more.

Cut off the Cardinals’ armor, and you’ll just find that they’re wearing three more suits underneath. And no doubt, the Seahawks figure to be in a ton of nickel against Arizona, meaning both Lane and Shead on the field regularly.

Every morning, we’ll round up local and national Seattle Seahawks-related links. Defensively, the Cardinals yield 231.9 ayrds in passing and 87.7 yards in rushing. The over/under for this game is 47 total points. Arizona WR Michael Floyd is listed as questionable for the game but is expected to play, meaning the Cardinals won’t lack for targets and that both Lane and Shead will probably get plenty of passes thrown their way. Seattle was initially hopeful Lynch might return this week, but he was not ready.

Johnson’s overall numbers, aside from his 13 touchdowns, are fairly modest since he received three or fewer carries in eight of his first 11 games, serving as the team’s kick returner and pass-catching threat out of the backfield. The Bengals, meanwhile, managed just 99 yards rushing and pretty much exclusively tried to run up the middle.

Arizona success was hindered by those early turnovers and a meager running game that produced just 82 yards on 25 attempts, mostly successful around the left end and behind the left tackle. Carson Palmer was – even for him – uncharacteristically addicted to the deep ball, chucking 9 passes downfield and completing 4 for 121 yards. Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald needs one catch to break his franchise mark of 103 receptions in a season set a decade ago.

“When I see guys play that hard”, Bettcher said, “and play with that much love for the game and for each other and for the organization they play for, it means a lot to me personally”.