Eight games into the 2015 season, Seahawks opponents have completed only one touchdown pass to a wide receiver, and that came from Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who extended the play with his legs, then threaded a laser between All-Pro defensive backs Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman to hit James Jones in the end zone, a throw few, if any, other quarterbacks would have the audacity to even attempt, let alone successfully execute.
The Arizona Cardinals, meanwhile, come into Sunday night's NFC West showdown against Seattle thriving when Carson Palmer throws to his top receivers, Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown, who have combined to catch 112 passes for 1,587 yards and 13 touchdowns.
And that brings us to our three key matchups for Sunday night's game at CenturyLink Field between the first-place Cardinals and the Seahawks, who are hoping to once again overtake Arizona in the standings with a second half surge.
1. Carson Palmer and the Cardinals' big-play passing attack against the Seahawks pass defense.
Not everything has gone well for the Seahawks' defense this season—as is evident in the production of opposing tight ends, which has been a combination of good execution by good players and a few communication errors—but for the most part the pass defense has done the No. 1 thing Pete Carroll asks of a defense: take away big plays, and long touchdowns in particular.
Arguably no player is more important to Seattle's defense than free safety Earl Thomas, not because of the plays Thomas makes, but because of the ones opposing offenses don't make.
"It's a crucial aspect," Carroll said last year. "He plays a lot of deep-middle responsibility, and people don't appreciate that (opponents) don't throw post routes for touchdowns on us, and how many times they don't throw seam routes for touchdowns on us. That happens all the time every single day in football, and we're great at taking care of that."
The way the Seahawks ask Thomas, Kam Chancellor and their cornerbacks to play, there will be room for short pass completions in the middle of the field—Peyton Manning set a Super Bowl record for pass completions against Seattle, yet his offense managed a single touchdown in a blowout loss—but getting beat deep is a no-no in a Carroll defense.
"In our defensive scheme we are extraordinarily tied to that principal," Carroll said earlier this season. "If you give up long touchdown plays, you're not a very good defense. It doesn't matter what you do, or how hard you hit or whatever, so it all begins there. That's the first aspect of playing defense, you can't give up easy plays, so it just begins there. How much do we speak about it and try to make sense of that? As much as we can and as much as need be, and we're very lucky and fortunate that our guys on the back end have really understood that. Earl has been a tremendous advocate of the philosophy, as has Richard and Kam, and Cary (Williams) is really tuned in."
Which brings us to the Arizona Cardinals, who under head coach Bruce Arians have one of the most aggressive passing attacks in the NFL, one that nobody is expecting to go into a shell against the Legion of Boom.
"We attack, in every situation," Palmer said. "… We're going to spread you out, we're going to take shots, and we're going to be aggressive."
So far this season, the Cardinals have completed 37 passes of 20 or more yards, the third most in the NFL, and Palmer is averaging a league-best 9.1 yard per pass attempt. The Seahawks meanwhile, started off the season by uncharacteristically giving up 11 completions of 20-plus yards in their first two games, but have allowed only 14 in six games since then, looking more like the defense that allowed the fewest such plays in each of the previous two seasons (30 in 2013, 32 last year).
And as is always the case, stopping a potent passing attack isn't just the job of Seattle's secondary. No matter how talented Seattle's defensive backs are, if Palmer has long enough to operate, he's going to complete a lot of passes, which is where the pass rush comes into play. Seattle's front seven, and ends Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett in particular, have been good at generating pressure this season, even if it hasn't always shown up in the form of sacks, and will need to make Palmer uncomfortable Sunday for the defense to be at its best.
"It's very important," Avril said. "Any time they throw the ball, (the pass rush) is very important, but a team that likes to go down the field gives you a little more time to pass rush and make that last effort to get after the quarterback. You put pressure in any quarterbacks face, or up the middle where they feel guys at their feet, or hitting them a split second after they throw the ball, they feel that, and they start to think about it. So you definitely want to get after him as much as possible."
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2. Marshawn Lynch vs. Arizona's run defense.
Overall this season, the Cardinals have been very good against the run, allowing 90.1 rushing yards per game, which ranks fourth in the league. In their two losses, however, the Cardinals allowed a total of 305 rushing yards to Pittsburgh and St. Louis, showing that a strong rushing attack can succeed against Arizona's defense.
The Seahawks haven't quite lived up to last year's franchise-record rushing standard, but they are still third in league with 139.5 yards per game. While Marshawn Lynch is listed as questionable because of an abdominal injury that showed up late in the week, Carroll sounded optimistic that the Pro-Bowl back will play. And whether it is Lynch or Thomas Rawls carrying the load, the Seahawks need to establish a running game to keep an aggressive Cardinals pass rush honest.
"It is important," Carroll said. "It is important, and they're good against the run too. They make it hard because of the way they stunt and all of that. We see them pressuring almost half the time so we're going to, we don't want to have to allow them to come after us with all that in the passing game, so running the football is really important. It's always important to us anyways, but it is important against this scheme."
The Seahawks have had success running on Arizona, most notably rushing for 267 yards on 34 carries in their last meeting, and in case anyone had forgotten, Lynch did do this the last time he faced the Cardinals:
3. Cardinals ball security vs. a Seahawks defense that feels like its due for some turnovers.
The Cardinals have two games in which they didn't turn the ball over and two more with just one giveaway, so it's not fair to say turnovers have been a consistent problem, but there have been games when the turnovers come in bunches for Arizona. In both losses, Arizona gave the ball away three times, and the Cardinals had four turnovers in their most recent game, necessitating a big second-half comeback for a win over Cleveland.
The Seahawks, meanwhile, have not been forcing turnovers at the high rate they are used to, and have just nine takeaways in eight games and none in their past two. Perhaps most surprising is the fact that Seattle has only three interceptions.
"It's always really frustrating," Carroll said. "There's a couple of times in our years that we've seen it like this, and it's like we say, they come in bunches. I can't imagine that it can continue to happen, because the rush is effective, and we are getting the kind of speed rush that we want in effect. Let's get some games at home, see what happens here, see if we can't get it cranked up a little bit."
32 regular season games. 16 wins for the Seahawks. 16 wins for the Cardinals. Take a look back at the photos and scores from each game before their rubber match this Sunday night at CenturyLink Field.



Phoenix Cardinals quarterback Gary Hogeboom can't find a receiver due to heavy defensive pressure from Seattle Seahawks (92) David Wyman and (72) Joe Nash during action in their pre-season game, Aug. 12, 1989 in Tempe, Arizona. The Seahawks proved too much for the Cardinals after the game went into overtime and lost 16-10. (AP Photo/Chad Surmick)

Running back Ron Moore (30) of the Phoenix Cardinals is held to a one yard gain as he is tackled by Cortez Kennedy (96) of the Seattle Seahawks during the third quarter of their NFL game in Seattle, Washington, Dec. 19, 1993. Watching the play is Joe Wolf (68) of the Cardinals. Phoenix beat Seattle in overtime, 30-27. (AP Photo/Bill Chan)

Seattle Seahawks tight end Trey Junkin (83) runs a pass pattern during an NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals in Tempe, Oct. 29, 1995. The Cardinals defeated the Seahawks 20-14 at Sun Devil Stadium. (AP Photo/NFL Photos)

Arizona Cardinals Chris Gedney (84) takes in a pass while in the grasp of Seattle Seahawks Fred Thomas (22) and goes for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Sept. 13, 1998 in Seattle. The play went 23 yards but wasnt enough as Seattle won the game 33-14. (AP Photo/Jay Drowns)

Arizona Cardinals' Thomas Jomes evades a diving Seattle Seahawks' Reggie Tongue to run 58 yards for a touchdown during the third quarter in the Cardinals 24-13 win over the Seahawks in Seattle Sunday Sept. 15, 2002. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Arizona Cardinals running back Marcel Shipp (31) is surrounded by Seattle Seahawks defenders November 10, 2002 at Sun Devils Stadium. The Seahawks defeated the Cardinals 27 - 6. (AP Photo / Al Messerschmidt)

Arizona Cardinals punter Scott Player (10) punts during a week 10 NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Phoenix, Arizona on November 10, 2002. The Seahawks defeated the Cardinals 27-6. (AP Photo/Scott Boehm)

Seattle Seahawks' Bobby Engram returns a punt for 48 yards with Arizona Cardinals' Quentin Harris chasing during the second quarter in Seattle Sunday Dec. 26, 2004. The return set up the first Seattle touchdown as the go on to win, 24-21. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Seattle Seahawks kicker Josh Brown, top, knocks the ball out of the end zone to avoid a touchdown as Arizona Cardinals' Gerald Hayes, rear, and Renaldo Hill, rear right, pursue, after Brown had his punt blocked in the fourth quarter Sunday, Oct. 24, 2004, in Tempe, Ariz. The Cardinals got a safety on the play in their 25-17 win. (AP Photo/Roy Dabner)

Arizona Cardinals Josh McCown making a play with the ball in a game verse the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday December 26, 2004 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Kevin Reece)

Seattle Seahawks safety Ken Hamlin, left, and Kelly Herdon, background right, break up a pass intended for Arizona Cardinals' Anquan Boldin during the first quarter Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Seattle Seahawks Andre Dyson, rear, pulls down Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald after a short gain during the first quarter Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Seattle Seahawks punter Ryan Plackemeier kicks from the end zone against the Arizona Cardinals during the third quarter of a football game in Seattle, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2006. the Seahawks won 21-10. (AP Photo//John Froschauer)

Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald, rear, pulls down a touchdown pass as Seattle Seahawks' Marcus Trufant (23) defends during the fourth quarter of their football game Sunday, Dec. 10, 2006, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won, 27-21. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Cardinals' Calvin Pace, rear right, Darnell Dockett, left, and Antonio Smith, center, pursue Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (8) during the first quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007 in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Seattle Seahawks' Rocky Bernard, bottom left, trips-up Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner (13) as Julian Peterson (59) slams into him from above during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 9, 2007, in Seattle. The play was ruled as a sack and the quarterback down before the ball was loose. The Seahawks won, 42-21. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

SEATTLE - NOVEMBER 16: Running back Julius Jones #22 of the Seattle Seahawks gets pulled down against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday November 16, 2008 in Seattle, Washington. The Cardinals won the game 26-20. (AP Photo/Thomas E. Witte) Julius Jones

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Courtney Taylor has his pass broken up by Arizona Cardinals' Roderick Hod (26) during the second quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008 in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald stretches out to make an acrobatic catch while Seattle's Kelly Jennings defends.



The Seahawks defeated the Arizona Cardinals 36-18 to move into first place in the NFC West.







