The Arizona Cardinals are carrying a strange kind of momentum into Week 2: not from the recent history with the Seattle Seahawks, but from a metric that sees them as the slight favorite.
That’s a notable turn, considering the Cardinals have dropped their last nine meetings with Seattle, a stretch that goes back to the 2021 season. Still, ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Arizona a 53.7% chance to win Sunday’s game at State Farm Stadium, while the Seahawks sit at 45.9%.
Seattle’s number takes a hit with Sam Darnold officially ruled out. Drew Lock is set to start against an Arizona defense that held Justin Herbert and the Chargers to 14 points in Week 1. Both clubs enter Sunday at 1-0.
Head coach Mike LaFleur said Lock earned some respect after last week’s outing.
"I want to say he's started 28 games I think in his career. He's played 41 career [games].
I think he was 16 to 22 for 187 in a touchdown [last week]. I thought he was efficient," LaFleur said of Lock.
Darnold left last week’s opener early with a glute injury, but the Seahawks do not expect him to go on injured reserve.
LaFleur also spent time praising Darnold, saying, "Sam's a great quarterback. I'd say I know Sam a little bit better than Drew because I did have I guess you could say a month or so with him even though he wasn't in the building in New York,"
He added: "But I've always really respected him dating back to USC, understanding that he was a young quarterback going through - every situation is different by the quarterback and by the club. He got himself in a very stable situation.
I think starting in San Francisco, Minnesota, and then obviously in Seattle. It's not shocking that they got the result they did last year.
"In my opinion, they are the best coach team in football. I think they have the best defense in football, and now, in my opinion, they have a really, really good quarterback with it, and yeah, he's down this week.
But again, like I just said with Drew, the moment's not too big for him. I think he's a good quarterback who's played a lot of good football."
It’s an early NFC West matchup with plenty of uncertainty baked in, and that alone makes the Cardinals’ edge in the predictor stand out even more.
In Other News...
Cardinals Suddenly Have A Safety Depth Problem They Cant Ignore
Kitan Crawfords Week 1 injury quickly turned into more than a one-game setback for Arizona. The Cardinals safety was carted off the field with a mid-ankle sprain and has now been placed on injured reserve with a designation to return, which means he has to sit out at least four weeks while the team waits for him to work his way back.
For a defense already dealing with injury issues in the safety room, the timing is the real problem. Arizona had been counting on depth at the position to hold up early in the season, but Crawfords absence narrows the margin even further, and his expected return by Week 6 only underscores how long the Cardinals may need to manage without much help back there. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks QB Decision Just Changed Everything For Cardinals Week
Sam Darnold is officially out for Seattles upcoming game against the Cardinals after suffering a soft-tissue glute tendon injury, and the absence changes the tone of a divisional matchup that already carried plenty of weight. The Seahawks are not planning to place him on injured reserve, but his status leaves Drew Lock in line to start when Seattle meets Arizona.
For the Cardinals, the quarterback switch adds a different kind of prep this week, even if the opponent remains the same on the schedule. Arizona now has to account for a Seattle offense with a different trigger man under center, and those kinds of adjustments can matter in a division game where every edge is magnified. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Secondary Shakeup Starts With Another Injury Move
The Cardinals secondary adjustments started in Tempe with another roster shuffle tied to injury, as Arizona placed a safety and special teams contributor on injured reserve and moved cornerback Kalen King up from the practice squad to the active roster. The move comes at a time when the back end of the defense has been under steady pressure to stay together, and every transaction seems to carry a little more weight than the last.
Arizona also added some depth behind the scenes, signing cornerback Art Green and safety Jerrick Reed II to the practice squad while releasing wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette. For a team trying to keep its defensive backfield functional and its special teams options flexible, the latest round of moves suggests the Cardinals are still piecing things together as they sort through the latest injury hit. [Read more 🡒]