Rost: What Seahawks need to do, can’t do vs Cardinals

The Seattle Seahawks head to the desert for a rematch against the 6-6 Arizona Cardinals. This game could ultimately determine the NFC West winner, so Seattle’s surely hoping for a repeat performance.

Macdonald previews Seattle Seahawks’ pivotal rematch vs Arizona

But to get that done, they’ll need to make sure they don’t do this one thing…

DON’T: Let Kyler Murray run early

Arizona entered Week 12 as a top-five rushing team but was held to a season-low 49 rushing yards against Seattle. That included just nine yards on two carries for a largely contained Kyler Murray. The result? A one-dimensional Cardinals team that could really only get tight end Trey McBride involved (133 yards on 12 catches) but was otherwise inefficient (Murray completed 24-of-37 with no touchdowns and an errant, desperate heave that was returned for a pick-six).

On “The Huddle” Thursday, I asked ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, who covers the Cards, what could change in the second meeting between these two teams.

His answer: Murray’s impact in the run game.

“Getting Kyler involved early (is key),” Weinfuss said. “When this team gets him out in space early in the first quarter, it changes the whole complexity of the offense because teams have to think about Kyler more. There are two-dimensional teams, but they have a three-dimensional team. When they get Kyler out running early, it not only changes the run game, but it also changes the pass game because he’s so good at throwing on the move. So if they can get him in space, whether it’s a designed run or an RPO (read-pass option) or whether it’s some sort of off-schedule type play, just let him put in the back of the Seahawks’ defense mind that ‘we’ve got to account for this guy.’ If they could do that early, I think it would change the game.”

The Cardinals are 3-1 in games where Murray has rushed for more than 50 yards and are 2-3 in games where he’s rushed for under 20. Of those two wins, one was against a struggling Bears team, and the other was a close game (a 28-27 final score) against Miami where Murray also threw for over 300 yards.

DO: Keep trying to establish the run

There comes a time when you just kind of want to give up when something isn’t working and lean into what you do well. It’s probably why Ryan Grubb opted to include a (failed) pass to DK Metcalf on third-and-1 from the Jets’ 1-yard line.

That entire sequence reflects Seattle’s season-long struggles to run the ball. You can blame a new NFL offensive coordinator who led a pass-happy system with Washington, or you could blame an interior offensive line that simply can’t get push in short-yardage situations. And while I don’t want Seattle to stubbornly try to become something they’re not, I do want to see them keep trying to get Kenneth Walker III — one of its best playmakers — involved.

It’s worth mentioning that it won’t be easy: Arizona’s defense, which like Seattle’s has improved as the year has progressed, hasn’t allowed a 100 or more yards rushing since Miami in Week 8.

Hear the full conversation with ESPN Arizona Cardinals beat reporter Josh Weinfuss at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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