Game Day: Your guide to the Seahawks-Cardinals matchup

LAST MEETING

In a poetic finish to an underwhelming season, Blair Walsh missed a field goal with 32 seconds remaining as the Seahawks lost to the Drew Stanton-led Cardinals 26-24 in the final game of 2017. Even more humiliating, then-Arizona-coach Bruce Arians called CenturyLink Field “my house” after the game, referencing the Cardinals’ success in Seattle under his leadership. It was an embarrassing end to the season and surely left a sour taste in the mouths of Seahawks players, coaches and fans.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH

Earl Thomas vs. the World

It turns out that disgruntled Earl Thomas is the best kind of Earl Thomas. Despite his well-documented dissatisfaction with Seahawks’ brass, Thomas has been nothing short of spectacular on the field. Uh, well, maybe not the practice field, but on game day Thomas has been better than ever. He leads all NFL safeties with three interceptions and his four passes defended are tied for fifth most in the league. Pay this man his money. Or maybe don’t just yet and keep that fire burning. Speaking of star safeties, Bradley McDougald may be turning into one for the Seahawks. The 27-year-old already has two interceptions, a forced fumble, 17 solo tackles and four passes defended in three games. Nobody can fill the void left by Kam Chancellor, but perhaps McDougald can soften the blow, a la Mike Cameron replacing Ken Griffey Jr. for the Seattle Mariners in 2000. If the Seahawks do the right thing and hang on to Thomas, this safety duo will be one of the best in the NFL this season and beyond.

Frank Clark vs. Josh Rosen

According to the Seahawks, Clark is the first Seattle defender to start the season with a sack in each of the team’s first three games since Bryce Fisher in 2005. Like Thomas, Clark is in the final year of his contract and is certainly playing like a man on a mission. Rosen will be making his first NFL start after being selected by the Cardinals with the 10th pick in the 2018 draft. The Cardinals inexplicably replaced starter Sam Bradford with Rosen late in the fourth quarter of last week’s loss to the Bears. It was a tough landing for Rosen against a ferocious pass rush, and the rookie threw an interception to seal the game. Rosen was somewhat turnover-prone during his career at UCLA, throwing 26 interceptions in 30 career college games. If Clark can make life miserable for the rookie in the pocket, Seattle’s secondary could have a field day.

Duane Brown vs. Chandler Jones

Seattle paid Brown a lot of money to handle matchups like this. Jones led the NFL in sacks last season with 17 and finished third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. In an age when many premiere pass-rushers rush from the left side of the defense, Jones has done his damage predominantly from the right side. Brown has been good, not great, at left tackle so far this season, so expect a battle between these two all game long. Although it wouldn’t be a shock to see Jones take at least a few snaps opposite Seahawks right tackle Germain Ifedi.

Will Dissly vs. Budda Baker

Because who doesn’t like to see a pair of former teammates going at it? Baker and Dissly were both freshmen at the University of Washington in 2014. In fact, they were even on the same side of the ball until Dissly transitioned from defensive tackle to tight end in 2016. Baker is now the starting strong safety for the Cardinals, while Dissly sees plenty of action as the Seahawks’ backup tight end. Add in Arizona starting weak-side linebacker Deone Bucannon, a Washington State alum, and Dissly would be wise to keep his head on a swivel in this one.

KEY NUMBER

64 — The number of rushing yards Chris Carson needs to surpass last season’s leader among Seahawks running backs. After his 100-yard day against the Cowboys, Carson has 177 rushing yards so far this season. Mike Davis led all Seahawks running backs with 240 yards rushing last year. While this sounds good on the surface, not all is rosy. According to FootballOutsiders.com, a football analytics website, Seattle’s rushing efficiency so far this season is worse than last season. Using the website’s DVOA formula (defense-adjusted value over average; compares a team’s performance to a league baseline), the Seahawks are 28th in the league in rushing efficiency at -24.3 percent. Seattle was 23rd in rushing DVOA last season at -12.1 percent. So be careful when assuming Seattle is an improved rushing offense this year just because the yardage totals are more impressive.

DID YOU KNOW?

Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks was the secondary coach at the University of Washington for one season in 2005, Tyrone Willingham’s first season as head coach. Jackson High School legend Johnnie Kirton was a sophomore tight end on that team, which finished the season 2-9. It was a terrible year for the Huskies that ended with Washington State players dancing on the “W” at midfield at Husky Stadium after a win in the Apple Cup.

FOOTBALL 101

Last week we touched on how the Seahawks like to play in the defensive secondary, but what about the defensive line? Pete Carroll has been running what is called the “4-3 Under” defense for nearly his entire coaching career. The “4-3” part is likely familiar to fans — four defensive linemen and three linebackers. The “Under” refers to how the defensive line and linebackers align. In an “Under” front, the nose tackle (Jarran Reed) will line up on the tight end side (or strong side) of the offense’s center, and the strong-side linebacker (Barkevious Mingo) will line up on the outside shoulder of the tight end. The weak-side (away from the tight end) defensive end will typically line up fairly wide on the outside of the offensive tackle (keep an eye out for Frank Clark), while the strong-side defensive end will be aligned face-to-face with his offensive tackle. Point this alignment out to impress your family and friends on game day!

GAMEDAY GRUB

While this may be an easy week to suggest something with a Southwest flavor, one can’t help but be angrily nostalgic when the Seahawks play in Arizona. Yes, it was in Glendale that Seattle failed to give Marshawn Lynch the ball at the goal line and thus lost Super Bowl 49 to the Patriots. So in honor of this depressing moment in Seahawks history, fans should be forgiven for shoving their faces full of Skittles and washing them down with Hennessy and tears on Sunday. If you prefer beer and are looking for a hint of the desert, try a Sierra Nevada Otra Vez Cactus & Grapefruit for something a little different.

PICK

Seahawks 27, Cardinals 10

Although this will be Seattle’s third road game in four weeks, it’s hard to imagine its improving defense getting beat by a rookie quarterback in his first start. Strange things tend to happen in Arizona (see the Super Bowl mentioned above and the infamous 6-6 tie in 2016), but the Seahawks should be able to pull this one out with relative ease.