DANNY ONEIL

O’Neil: Seahawks chasing something meaningful Sunday vs Cardinals — consistency

Dec 28, 2018, 12:30 PM

russell wilson, seahawks...

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson will enter the final year of his deal this season. (AP)

(AP)

The Seahawks don’t need to win Sunday’s game to make the playoffs.

Their postseason berth was assured the minute they beat the Chiefs last week.

Seattle may not even need to beat the Cardinals in the regular-season finale to secure playoff positioning. Unless the Vikings upset the Chicago Bears, the Seahawks will be the No. 5 seed even if they lose to Arizona.

Carroll: WR Doug Baldwin will be gametime decision vs Cardinals

That doesn’t mean that Sunday’s game isn’t important, though, because the Seahawks are chasing something that is much more meaningful than the negligible difference between being the first or the second wild-card entrant in the NFC playoffs. They’re trying to demonstrate some consistency.

A win over the Cardinals may not say much, but losing to a last-place team like this would say plenty about the expectations we should have for Seattle’s postseason run. Namely: There shouldn’t be any.

The Cardinals allow an average of 153.1 yards rushing per game, most in the league, which is inviting for the Seahawks, who’re averaging a league-high 158.5 rushing yards.

Not only that, but the Cardinals are getting worse. Since Arizona’s Week 13 upset of Green Bay – a result so infuriating that it precipitated the Packers’ decision to fire coach Mike McCarthy – the Cardinals have lost three straight games by a combined score of 88-26. It’s widely expected that the Cardinals will fire first-year coach Steve Wilks at the conclusion of this season.

Throughout this season the Seahawks have demonstrated that they’re more than capable of standing toe-to-toe with some of the very best teams in the league. Their two losses to the division-winning Rams came by a combined total of seven points. They had the ball and a chance to tie the score in the fourth quarter against the Bears in Week 2 and against the Chargers last month. Both of those teams are headed to the playoffs.

But look no further than Seattle’s overtime loss in San Francisco two weeks ago for an example that the Seahawks remain eminently capable of shooting themselves in the foot. Repeatedly. Throw in the fact that Arizona has won three straight road games in Seattle and was 4-1 here under former coach Bruce Arians and it should be clear that Seattle can’t take anything for granted.

The Seahawks have already outplayed the expectations that many had for them. This was supposed to be a down year after all the offseason changes, and yet here they are, headed back to the playoffs for the seventh time in Pete Carroll’s nine seasons as head coach.

Seattle’s season has provided plenty of reasons for optimism heading forward. Last year, the Seahawks finished 9-7 but they were an older team, stung by injuries and the uncertainty around players who had been part of the bedrock for those back-to-back Super Bowl appearances.

They’re currently 9-6, but loaded with young players who very well may grow into the kind of playmakers they are being asked to replace.

No one is wondering what direction Seattle is going anymore. The only question is how quickly they can get back to being a viable Super Bowl threat, and while a victory over the 3-12 Arizona Cardinals isn’t going to convince anyone that the Seahawks have arrived, Seattle’s going to post the kind of victory that will make you at least wonder how deep into January they may go.

Seattle 23, Arizona 6.

Danny and Gallant Show

Danny ONeil

Seahawks Quandre Diggs...

Danny O'Neil

O’Neil: Seahawks have uncertainty with a player ‘holding in,’ but it’s not Quandre Diggs

While Quandre Diggs appears to be the third Seahawks player to "hold-in" during training camp, Danny O'Neil writes that it's Duane Brown whose future is up in the air.

3 years ago

Follow @dannyoneil...

Danny O'Neil

AZ Good AZ it Gets

SPONSORED – Phoenix was the place where the rest of the country found out that Seattle fans took their enthusiasm on the road with them. That was 2013. It’s also the place where I discovered how restorative a desert vacation can be. That was 2015. Let’s start with the screaming. That’s what caught everyone’s attention […]

3 years ago

Mariners Jarred Kelenic...

Danny O'Neil

O’Neil: Mariners aren’t handing the spotlight over to Seahawks just yet

This is the time of year that Seattle tends to shift its focus to the gridiron, but the Mariners are still commanding attention.

3 years ago

Seahawks Duane Brown...

Danny O'Neil

O’Neil: When Seahawks decide not to extend players, they’re rarely wrong

If you think the Seahawks must sign Duane Brown to an extension, when's the last time they opted against re-signing someone and it came back to bite them?

3 years ago

Follow @dannyoneil...

Danny O'Neil

Oh, LA, LA!

Week 15, Dec. 19: Seattle at Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium, 1:25 p.m. Pacific SPONSORED – Maybe it was fitting that the opening act for the first pro-football game I covered in Los Angeles was a rock band I loved as a teenager. There’s no place that makes me think of growing up more than […]

3 years ago

Follow @dannyoneil...

Danny O'Neil

Star in a Lone Star Adventure

Week 14, Dec. 12: Seattle at Houston Texans, NRG Stadium, 10 a.m. Pacific SPONSORED – Enchiladas and greatness. That’s what I think of in Texas. The enchiladas are pretty straightforward. They’re so delicious at El Tiempo Cantina that it’s hard to take a bite without closing my eyes. There are three locations though the one […]

3 years ago

O’Neil: Seahawks chasing something meaningful Sunday vs Cardinals — consistency