Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals Matchup Preview (1/9/22): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals Matchup Preview (1/9/22)

The Seattle Seahawks head to Glendale for their last game of the season this week to take on the Arizona Cardinals. Both teams are coming off big wins that boosted morale and now have chances to end the regular season on a two-game winning streak. The Seahawks put away the Lions last week 51-29 in what looked to be the offense we had been missing all year long. It was undoubtedly their best offensive performance with players like Rashaad Penny and DK Metcalf breaking career records. Unfortunately, it’s far too late for it to make a substantial difference, but at least they can head into the offseason with something to be proud of. The Cardinals beat the Cowboys last week and needed that win in the worst way possible. It snapped their three-game winning streak and proved that they are still a very talented team despite recent results. The Cardinals currently sit at no. 2 in the NFC West but a win here and a Rams loss to the 49ers could bring them to no. 1 in the NFC West and the no. 2 seed overall, giving them home field advantage to kick start the playoffs. Of course the Cardinals have struggled on their home turf this season (3-4) so this may or may not benefit them. When these teams met in week 11, Arizona pulled off the road upset with Colt McCoy under center, handing over four Russell Wilson sacks and holding them to just 86 yards on the ground.

Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals Betting Odds

The Cardinals are a 6.5-point favorite in this game and the over/under for total points is set at 48. At the beginning of the year, it would have been easy to favor the Cardinals to cover, but since their last meeting, things have changed. Despite covering in nine of their first twelve games, which included the Seahawks win, a three game losing streak gives them a 2-3 ATS record in their last five games. Meanwhile, the Seahawks started the season 5-7 in their first twelve games and now sit 3-2 ATS in their last five games. They are 8-8 ATS overall. They also started the season hitting the over once in their first eleven contests but have now hit the over in four of their last five games. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have hit the under in three straight games and are 7-9 on the season. 

It makes sense why the Cardinals are the favorite, but given how much they’ve struggled at home this year and the Seahawks’ weird nature to compete very well in this division, I could see a Seahawks upset here. The Seahawks are 7-3-1 against the Cardinals on the road since Pete Carroll has been head coach and if last week was any example of what they are capable of as an offense, they can definitely compete in this game.

My predictions: Seahawks win 23-21, Seahawks cover, under 48

TV Schedule

Date: Sunday, January 9
Time: 4:25 PM ET
Location: State Farm Stadium – Glendale, AZ
TV Coverage: FOX

Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals Live Stream

Where can you watch Seahawks vs. Cardinals online? You can stream this game, and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Seahawks vs. Cardinals Free Online Now.

Seattle Seahawks Analysis

The Seahawks are in uncharted territory right now. Missing the postseason for the second time in a decade and the first losing record of the Russell Wilson era is certainly not what we expected. Especially with the weapons that they have on this team, it should have gone better, no question. They’ll go back to the drawing boards this offseason with lots to work on, but also a lot to look forward to, especially with the surprise emergence of Rashaad Penny dominating their running game. 

He has been of the most efficient running backs in the league in the latter half of the season, recently recognized for it as the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Week after his electric performance against Detroit. He tallied 170 yards last week, a career-high for him, and has 481 yards on the run with five touchdowns over their last five games. He looks more confident and assertive with every successful game of his and leads the run game to 117 rushing yards per game. It will be interesting to see if he can keep his streak alive against a solid defense like Arizona. 

DK Metcalf also broke a career record last week with three touchdowns in his game against Detroit. He has been relatively quiet all year long compared to last year, but has 12 touchdowns on the season and can use his speed to exploit cornerbacks. It was this very speed that ran down Budda Baker at Arizona’s home field for almost 100 yards on what should have been a pick-six, had he not stopped him short of what would have been a game-winning touchdown. No matter how good your secondary is, Metcalf is one of the hardest receivers to defend in the league as is the chemistry between Russell Wilson and his other receiver, Tyler Lockett. 

If they win this game, Russell Wilson will pass Peyton Manning for the most wins in a player’s first ten seasons in the NFL. If he throws for 125 yards, he would also join Manning in being the only quarterback with 3,000 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in each of his first ten seasons. The offense shows promise, but simply cannot convert on third or fourth down and have two of the worst third and fourth down conversion rates, which doesn’t stand to get any better against a defense that has two of the best third and fourth down conversion percentages. 

The biggest question defensively in this game is if Bobby Wagner will be there. He sprained his knee last week, sidelining him for the remainder of the game, in what was most likely the first defensive snap he’s ever missed. Not to worry, Wagner-like prodigy Jordyn Brooks has emerged as a similar threat and is right behind him in total tackles. He had 15 solo tackles against Arizona the last time they played. They still give up the second-most passing yards per game (270.4) which is tough going into a game against Kyler Murray. They are able to control the run game better though and despite having a struggling defense have one of the best red zone scoring defenses and give up only 21 points per game on average.

Seattle Seahawks Depth Chart

QB: Russell Wilson
RB: Rashaad Penny
WR1: DK Metcalf
WR2: Tyler Lockett
WR3: Freddie Swain
TE1: Gerald Everett
TE2: Will Dissly

Arizona Cardinals Analysis

Just when we thought the Cardinals magic was over, the 11-5 Arizona Cardinals pulled off an impressive and much-needed win against the Dallas Cowboys last week, snapping their losing streak that had us all worried about a do-over of last year. 

They are in the playoffs no matter what but a win here would give them better chances of clinching the division. Chase Edmonds and James Conner are banged up and fighting nagging injuries so it remains to be seen how the coaching staff will handle that, whether by snap counts or sitting them entirely. Either way likely puts them in jeopardy of something whether it’s losing this game or not having those two healthy in the playoffs. 

Not to worry, they have plenty of aerial scoring threats to make up for it between Christian Kirk and AJ Green. Antonie Wesley has also emerged as a surprising talent on this offense and recorded his first three career touchdown catches in his last two games. 

The Cardinals are solid all the way around, and despite their lapses in the last few games, this remains to be true, which they reminded us by beating one of the best teams in football last week. They have a run game and a passing game and have the eighth-most yards of offense this season. They’re equally threatening on the other side of the ball, especially on pass defense where they hold offenses to 213.5 passing yards per game. They held the Seahawks to 266 yards of total offense compared to their 413, when they played in week 11, but will likely transition to stopping the run now that Penny has become such a threat. 

The problem on this team isn’t their talent, it’s their discipline, and it’s been lacking as of late.

Arizona Cardinals Depth Chart

QB: Kyler Murray
RB1: Chase Edmonds
RB2: James Conner
WR1: Rondale Moore
WR2: AJ Green
WR3: Christian Kirk
TE1: Zach Ertz

Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals Daily Fantasy Picks

Rashaad Penny had 30.5 points last week against the Lions and has at least 135 yards in three of his last four games. He’s arguably the hottest running back in the league right now and will likely get a lot of action this week given his recent success.

I wouldn’t hammer the run game for fantasy for this team this week. With their running backs hurt, it’s hard to count on them to get a lot of action. I think Antoine Wesley could be a good WR2 pick. He’s tallied points recently while AJ Green and Christian Kirk have been struggling to score, so maybe he’s the answer.