NFL Week 4 Thursday

SEAHAWKS @ CARDINALS - 8:15 PM

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Arizona has definitely had problems with this Seattle team.

And now they're coming into this one without James Conner. There's also some injuries to this offensive line. Good news though... looks like Paris Johnson and Evan Brown participated in practice so I would imagine they both play. Will Hernandez may finally be healthy but I'm not sure if he'd even start. He hasn't played since Week 5 last season.

Now, this Seahawks defense is dealing with injuries also... but both Julian Love and Devon Witherspoon have been participating in light practice, which is a good sign because they both missed last week.

And right off the bat, we know this is going to be a really tough matchup for the Cardinals offense. We know this is an offense that wants to run the ball. That was their entire offensive identity last year. Not only has the run game not really been there so far, but now there's no James Conner, there's injury concerns on the offensive line... and the Seahawks defensive front is rock solid.

Now maybe we wanna point out that the Seahawks haven't exactly seen the most respectable rushing attacks this year. The 49ers haven't been running the ball this year... the Steelers... the Saints. They haven't seen a decent rushing attack this year. But the truth is... Seattle's been doing this without even loading the box defensively.

But honestly... are we even considering the Cardinals to be a respectable rushing attack right now? We don't want to just write them off... this was one of the most efficient rushing attacks in the NFL last year. But it hasn't been good so far this year... and it's not like they've seen a gauntlet of defenses.

Kyler Murray's gonna need to be excellent in this game. He opened up the season with a pretty solid game against the Saints... he didn't throw the ball downfield at all (31% of his pass attempts were behind the LOS)... but he was efficient... made good decisions.

The last couple games weren't as impressive.

Seattle's pass rush is looking pretty disruptive... and if Arizona isn't able to provide any run support... it could be a really difficult situation for Kyler Murray.

Now, if you are betting the Cardinals, you can point at the fact that their offensive line has been excellent in pass protection so far this year. In fact, in terms of seconds to pressure, they lead the NFL right now. But that's probably a reflection of the defensive lines they've seen so far.

On the other side of the ball, I have no idea.

I'm not really sure what I think of Sam Darnold right now. His numbers on the year look good. He's been under some pressure, too.

But the Saints game is skewing these numbers... look what happens if you take out the New Orleans game.

The Cardinals defense has actually been disruptive up front so far this year. They're generating consistent pressure... they're limiting the big downfield throws. They're struggling to get off the field... but as a whole, this pass defense has been solid. Remember, Carolina scored a couple TDs late when the Cardinals were up 18. It was 27-9 in the 4th quarter and Carolina scored two TDs.

Now obviously, we have to take into consideration that they've played bad teams and bad QBs. Spencer Rattler, Bryce Young and Mac Jones... but I will say that I'm more inclined to believe what we're seeing on this side of the ball for Arizona. Remember... this team completely rebuilt their defensive line.

Now that secondary is a concern. They've got major injuries there... but they've had major injuries in the secondary this whole season and nobody's made em pay for it yet. This defensive line has been really good. So is Sam Darnold the guy that's gonna go on the road and exploit it? Keep in mind... he probably won't have run support in this game.

Seattle's been disciplined about sticking to the run... I'm not sure what I think of the pass game. Sam Darnold in a division road game... winning as a favorite without run support. That sounds like a death sentence.

As far as the pick... I'll take UNDER 43.5. Arizona's gonna try to run the ball... they run a super slow pace. I don't expect them to have much success with it. But they can certainly chew minutes off the clock. Cardinals defensive line should keep the Seahawks from running it also. As far as the side, it really comes down to... do you trust Sam Darnold as a prime time road favorite? Honestly... it reminds me a lot of last year... Vikings on the road at Rams... I took Rams +3 and the comments were going nuts... HOW COULD YOU FADE THIS TEAM?? Rams ended up winning that game outright. Cards and under.