With first place in the NFC West on the line on Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks' rejuvenated defense will face its toughest test yet in the form of dual-threat quarterback Kyler Murray and a balanced, aggressive Arizona Cardinals offense.
Winners of four consecutive games, the Cardinals haven't had one specific formula for success climbing from the cellar to the top of the division over the past month. Transforming into a well-oiled machine that has left opponents grasping for straws trying to stop them, they have eclipsed 147 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns in three of those victories, while Murray put the team on his arm throwing for 307 yards and two touchdowns in a thrilling road win over the Dolphins.
With Murray being dynamic both as a passer and a runner orchestrating Drew Petzing's scheme and a litany of weapons around him, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald knows his team will have their hands full dealing with an offense that forces opponents to pick their poison, starting with the tall task of slowing down the NFL's fifth-ranked rushing attack.
"I think there's just like a synergy to it on how they're playing and how efficient Kyler's playing," Macdonald said of the Cardinals on Wednesday. "He's playing decisive. They do a great job. It's a different operation than we've seen. It's a ton of gap scheme, a ton of pullers. They do a great job protecting the football. And then if all else doesn't go to plan, then Kyler's one of the best in the business at extending plays and kind of making you pay late in the down too. The easy answer would be to say that the run game kind of starts it, but they kind of have all the things going. All the play actions, the movements, the screens, it kind of all works together. So, they got a great system and they're executing at a high level right now."
Earlier in the season, Arizona limped out of the gate to a 2-4 start, scoring 14 or fewer points in three of those losses. Since then, however, the unit has caught fire behind the sensational play of Murray, scoring at least 28 points in three consecutive wins over Miami, Chicago, and the New York Jets.
During the Cardinals current win streak, Murray has completed north of 70 percent of his passes, including a near-perfect performance completing 22 out of 24 passes against the Jets in Week 10. Aside from tossing four touchdowns as a passer, he's also been inflicting damage on opponents as a runner, as the jitterbug has raced through and around defenses with 110 yards and three touchdowns on the ground both on designed runs and extended scrambles.
Containing Murray in the pocket and preventing him from improvising as a scrambler will be pivotal for the Seahawks to win on Sunday, but he isn't the only weapon in the run game to worry about either. Veteran running back James Conner has been a battering ram anchoring the Cardinals run game, leading the NFL with 49 forced missed tackles and ranking sixth in yards after contact (555) while also producing 23 runs of 10 yards or more, tied for the second-most in the league.
Tackling has been a bit problematic for Seattle's defense much of the season and swarming to the football will be imperative to prevent Conner from frequently pushing the pile forward and racking up yards after contact in bunches, especially with Arizona being a gap-heavy offense schematically.
"The guy's tough, really tough. He runs a little upright, but he's powerful," Macdonald said, referencing Conner's broken tackle numbers. "With the gap scheme, he's got a good feel for when to hit the accelerator versus 'Hey, it's not there. Maybe take it a gap wider and then get vertical.' But, they do a great job of blocking for him. They get everybody blocked up. They've got all the schemes, but he does have a knack for getting the extra couple of yards. There's a lot of hidden yardage there that keeps him on track and ahead of the sticks which will be a challenge for us."
As for Arizona's aerial arsenal, Murray continues to build a strong connection with top-five pick Marvin Harrison Jr., who leads the team with six touchdown receptions as a rookie. The former Ohio State standout and son of Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison has averaged a gaudy 15.1 yards per reception, the fifth-highest mark among qualified receivers, doing a large chunk of his damage on 20-plus yard throws through the air with six receptions and three touchdowns on such passes.
But while Harrison has opened up the Cardinals vertical passing game, he hasn't been Murray's go-to target, with rising star tight end Trey McBride taking that title. Though he hasn't scored a touchdown yet, he leads the team in receptions (49) and receiving yards (552), ranking in the top three at his position in both categories. He's also forced nine missed tackles, proving to be a problem with the football in his hands after the catch.
After struggling with tight ends earlier in the season, the Seahawks have done a better job of slowing down receiving threats at the position in recent weeks, albeit without George Kittle playing for the 49ers last weekend obviously skewing stats. Macdonald is keeping his fingers crossed that trend continues against a player who posted 95 yards and a touchdown against his defense as coordinator for the Ravens a year ago.
"Trey's a really, really good player. Unfortunately, he had one of his coming out parties against the Ravens last year when we played against him," Macdonald commented. "But, there are not a lot of tight ends that can do all the things. He's one of the guys I think that you're going to find out that he can be on the end of the line blocking, he can arc, he can be in space. I think he's a really good route runner. We've got a lot of respect from him. He's a good player."
Considering all of the weapons at Murray's disposal and the ability for the Cardinals to dominate games both via passing and rushing, the Seahawks will have to play one of their cleanest games on defense to escape with a win on Sunday. The margin for error will be slim given the quarterback's propensity for escaping trouble and extending plays coupled with playmakers all over the field behind a much-improved offensive line.
But after losing their past four games at Lumen Field, Macdonald remains confident Seattle has turned the corner after finally avenging demons by winning in Santa Clara last weekend. As long as his players play within themselves and don't hurt themselves with self-inflicted mistakes, he's excited to see what they can do in a mid-November game with major postseason ramifications in front of their home crowd against top competition.
"I know we're on a slide here at home, and we're trying to do a couple of things to make it come to life. We're treating this like a home playoff game for us. We need the 12s rocking, and you're right, that's the vision. That's what we're trying to create. Let's get it started this Sunday."
