Cardinals vs. Seahawks NFL Week 11 Picks and Expert Insights
Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks
Sunday, November 21, 2021 at 4:25 p.m. ET at Lumen Field in Seattle
Injuries
Both teams are dealing with injuries at key positions, which one must account for in order to think about this game.
When I say "dealing," I mean that they are trying to make tough decisions regarding some key players.
Last week, Arizona made the tough decision -- costly in the short run -- to sit star quarterback Kyler Murray. But it seems like he was close to playing.
Murray had participated in Friday's practice, making him a game-time decision. Despite his injured ankle, one could see him bouncing around before the contest.
Sitting him certainly had precautionary value in view of the big goals that Arizona wants to accomplish this season, for which it will need a healthy Murray.
It could be viewed as ironic if it is true that Murray was more prepared to play last week than Russell Wilson.
Wilson was absolutely awful last Sunday against Green Bay as his team was shut out for the first time since 2011.
For what it's worth, Wilson insists that his injured finger did not cause him to struggle in that game.
To be fair, he may be right. Snowy and cold Lambeau Field in Green Bay might be the worst place for a quarterback to shake off a five-week-long rust.
Plus, the Packers are truly Wilson's nightmare opponent. His career passer rating is lower against them than against any other team.
There are still more significant injury questions to discuss over the course of this analysis, but for purposes of this analysis, it seems justified to assume that both Murray and Wilson will be good enough to play at a reasonably high level on Sunday.
Wilson is fully participating in practice. Murray returned to practice on Wednesday where he was a limited participant.
Top Cardinal pass-catcher DeAndre Hopkins still is not participating in practice due to his hamstring, which is a notoriously pesky site of injury.
Arizona Offense vs. Seattle Defense
It is not a coincidence that Arizona's only loss this season came in the one game where Hopkins accrued the fewest targets and receptions.
He had a big play in the first quarter of that game, but that play ended in him hurting his hamstring.
Later in the same contest, he forced himself to return to the field. He was, however, unable to do much at all.
While he is an elite wide receiver, the focused discussion of each team's starting quarterback may make Hopkins' injury sneakily the most important one to consider.
Without Hopkins, the team's leader in touchdown catches, the Cardinals rely on a very fine Christian Kirk, an aging A.J. Green, and a developing youngster in Rondale Moore.
At running back, Chase Edmonds is on IR. He was the team's top pass-catching running back.
For pass-catching the Cardinals now rely heavily on James Conner.
Without Hopkins and Edmonds, the Cardinals miss one star and one would-be crucial weapon.
Edmonds is important because the bane of Seattle's pass defense continues to be, as a result of KJ Wright's departure, defending the screen.
A.J. Green and A.J. Dillon are only two of the most recent running backs to contribute to the fact that Seattle's defense is the NFL's worst at limiting the pass-catching of opposing running backs.
Edmonds could have, in tandem with Conner, done a lot to exploit this weakness.
This specific struggle notwithstanding, Seattle's defense has improved considerably.
No longer simply showing simple zone coverages, the Seahawk pass defense in particular is more exotic and more confusing for opposing quarterbacks to dissect.
Even Aaron Rodgers, last week, produced his second-to-worst passer rating of the season thanks to Seattle's improved defense.
In their last five games, the Seahawks have allowed the fourth-fewest points per game, 17.2, limiting various quarterbacks in the process.
Murray, minus Hopkins, will be one more quarterback to struggle against Seattle's newly strong defense, which promises to have a solid day against pass-heavy Arizona.
Seattle Offense vs. Arizona Defense
Like Seattle, Arizona's defense shows a worrisome tendency to allow opposing running backs to dominate in pass-catching.
Aaron Jones and, most recently, Christian McCaffrey are two recent examples.
In the meantime, opposing top wide receivers are regularly struggling to be productive against the Cardinal secondary.
Ram star Cooper Kupp, for example, mustered a season-low 64 receiving yards thanks to Arizona's pass defense.
This success against opposing wide receivers largely explains why the Cardinals own the fifth-best pass defense as measured by opposing pass yards.
If there's any team to pass successfully against them, it is one with a strong pass-catching running back.
With regularly lackluster Travis Homer catching passes out of Seattle's backfield, the Seahawks lack this kind of weapon.
Offenses do well against Arizona when they can take advantage of its weakness, which is stopping the run.
But starting running back Chris Carson did not practice on Wednesday and does not seem close to playing.
Carson's absence -- and even backup Alex Collins is listed as 'questionable' with a groin injury -- means that Seattle lacks the weaponry to exploit Arizona's defensive weakness.
The Verdict
Injured quarterbacks, missing star support, absent would-be key weapons form the theme for this game.
With both offenses failing to create big plays or to exploit the opposing defense's weaknesses and with both secondaries being as strong as they currently are, a low-scoring game is in order.
Best Bet: Under 48 at -108 with Heritage
Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks
Sunday, November 21, 2021 at 4:25 p.m. ET at Lumen Field in Seattle
Injuries
Both teams are dealing with injuries at key positions, which one must account for in order to think about this game.
When I say "dealing," I mean that they are trying to make tough decisions regarding some key players.
Last week, Arizona made the tough decision -- costly in the short run -- to sit star quarterback Kyler Murray. But it seems like he was close to playing.
Murray had participated in Friday's practice, making him a game-time decision. Despite his injured ankle, one could see him bouncing around before the contest.
Sitting him certainly had precautionary value in view of the big goals that Arizona wants to accomplish this season, for which it will need a healthy Murray.
It could be viewed as ironic if it is true that Murray was more prepared to play last week than Russell Wilson.
Wilson was absolutely awful last Sunday against Green Bay as his team was shut out for the first time since 2011.
For what it's worth, Wilson insists that his injured finger did not cause him to struggle in that game.
To be fair, he may be right. Snowy and cold Lambeau Field in Green Bay might be the worst place for a quarterback to shake off a five-week-long rust.
Plus, the Packers are truly Wilson's nightmare opponent. His career passer rating is lower against them than against any other team.
There are still more significant injury questions to discuss over the course of this analysis, but for purposes of this analysis, it seems justified to assume that both Murray and Wilson will be good enough to play at a reasonably high level on Sunday.
Wilson is fully participating in practice. Murray returned to practice on Wednesday where he was a limited participant.
Top Cardinal pass-catcher DeAndre Hopkins still is not participating in practice due to his hamstring, which is a notoriously pesky site of injury.
Arizona Offense vs. Seattle Defense
It is not a coincidence that Arizona's only loss this season came in the one game where Hopkins accrued the fewest targets and receptions.
He had a big play in the first quarter of that game, but that play ended in him hurting his hamstring.
Later in the same contest, he forced himself to return to the field. He was, however, unable to do much at all.
While he is an elite wide receiver, the focused discussion of each team's starting quarterback may make Hopkins' injury sneakily the most important one to consider.
Without Hopkins, the team's leader in touchdown catches, the Cardinals rely on a very fine Christian Kirk, an aging A.J. Green, and a developing youngster in Rondale Moore.
At running back, Chase Edmonds is on IR. He was the team's top pass-catching running back.
For pass-catching the Cardinals now rely heavily on James Conner.
Without Hopkins and Edmonds, the Cardinals miss one star and one would-be crucial weapon.
Edmonds is important because the bane of Seattle's pass defense continues to be, as a result of KJ Wright's departure, defending the screen.
A.J. Green and A.J. Dillon are only two of the most recent running backs to contribute to the fact that Seattle's defense is the NFL's worst at limiting the pass-catching of opposing running backs.
Edmonds could have, in tandem with Conner, done a lot to exploit this weakness.
This specific struggle notwithstanding, Seattle's defense has improved considerably.
No longer simply showing simple zone coverages, the Seahawk pass defense in particular is more exotic and more confusing for opposing quarterbacks to dissect.
Even Aaron Rodgers, last week, produced his second-to-worst passer rating of the season thanks to Seattle's improved defense.
In their last five games, the Seahawks have allowed the fourth-fewest points per game, 17.2, limiting various quarterbacks in the process.
Murray, minus Hopkins, will be one more quarterback to struggle against Seattle's newly strong defense, which promises to have a solid day against pass-heavy Arizona.
Seattle Offense vs. Arizona Defense
Like Seattle, Arizona's defense shows a worrisome tendency to allow opposing running backs to dominate in pass-catching.
Aaron Jones and, most recently, Christian McCaffrey are two recent examples.
In the meantime, opposing top wide receivers are regularly struggling to be productive against the Cardinal secondary.
Ram star Cooper Kupp, for example, mustered a season-low 64 receiving yards thanks to Arizona's pass defense.
This success against opposing wide receivers largely explains why the Cardinals own the fifth-best pass defense as measured by opposing pass yards.
If there's any team to pass successfully against them, it is one with a strong pass-catching running back.
With regularly lackluster Travis Homer catching passes out of Seattle's backfield, the Seahawks lack this kind of weapon.
Offenses do well against Arizona when they can take advantage of its weakness, which is stopping the run.
But starting running back Chris Carson did not practice on Wednesday and does not seem close to playing.
Carson's absence -- and even backup Alex Collins is listed as 'questionable' with a groin injury -- means that Seattle lacks the weaponry to exploit Arizona's defensive weakness.
The Verdict
Injured quarterbacks, missing star support, absent would-be key weapons form the theme for this game.
With both offenses failing to create big plays or to exploit the opposing defense's weaknesses and with both secondaries being as strong as they currently are, a low-scoring game is in order.
Best Bet: Under 48 at -108 with Heritage
