3 Takes: What must happen for the Seahawks to beat the Cardinals
Oct 24, 2020, 3:16 PM
For Seahawks to win, Jim Moore says Kyler Murray can't get his average rushing yards total. (Getty)
(Getty)
A tough NFC showdown between the Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals is fast approaching, and once again, the Seahawks will be in primetime on Sunday Night Football.
Heaps: These 3 Seahawks must step up against the Arizona Cardinals
The Seahawks enter the contest at 5-0, tops in the NFC West and the NFC as a whole. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are also off to a good start, sitting at 4-2 and tied for second place in the NFC West and currently holding a Wild Card spot.
On Friday, the hosts of 710 ESPN Seattle’s Bob, Dave and Moore were asked to finish a simple sentence: “The Seahawks win if …”
Here’s what the three hosts had to say.
Bob Stelton: Score more than 24 points
“I don’t know if I can rely on anything with the defense, I could say ‘well if they keep Murray in check and force him to throw the ball rather than running the ball,’ but those are lofty dreams based on the way this defense has performed. I’m putting it on the offense. The second-best defense in terms of points allowed belongs to the Arizona Cardinals at just over 18 (points) per game. And their offense is averaging over 27 points a game, which isn’t as good as the Seahawks – the Seahawks are No. 1 in the league at just over 34 points a game. But if (Seattle) can score over 24, it will come in below their average, but decidedly above the average that the Cardinals are allowing, I think they can get the win. I’m putting everything on the shoulders of the offense … I’m not going to ignore the big plays (that the defense has made this season), but they’ve got to give me something more consistent to be able to rely on.”
Dave Wyman: Defense gets three takeaways
“He’s thrown six interceptions has (Cardinals quarterback) Kyler Murray. It’s going to be difficult. The way this defense is playing right now, you’re going to have to have takeaways. It’s going to be a slow fix, I believe, and I think they’re pretty aware of some of the things that need to be done. But they’re living right now on the takeaways and the big plays. And the takeaways are something you can more get your hands around. You can control that. You can have tight coverage, you can have good pressure that causes bad throws like in Miami. But the big plays in key moments, that’s the other thing they’ve lived on, I don’t know if you can necessarily control that … They’re third in the league with 10 (takeaways) and their turnover ratio (is tied for first at plus-six). I’m going to say this is going to be a tough game to win and I think they’re going to have to go plus-three in turnover ratio.”
Jim Moore: Murray and Drake have under 62 and 79 rushing yards, respectively
“The reason I picked those two numbers? That’s what (quarterback Kyler Murray and running back Kenyan Drake are) averaging … I’m not looking to be a ‘bold taker’ like (710 ESPN Seattle’s Tom, Jake and Stacy), this is just I’m going with something reasonable that might actually happen. And yet it’s a little bit of a reach when you think about the Seahawks and Minnesota rushing for over 200 yards (in Week 5). You thought once (Vikings running back Dalvin Cook) goes out of the game they’re going to be OK but then (backup Alexander Mattison) ran for over 100 (yards), too. It will be a tough one. And then (Seahawks head coach) Pete Carroll mentioning 11 yards a scramble for Kyler Murray this year. So it’s a tall task, but I think they could maybe do that and if they do, they should win.”
Listen to the second hour of Friday’s Bob, Dave and Moore at this link or in the player below.
Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s Bob, Dave and Moore on Twitter.
