For all of the struggles and injuries, the Seahawks could find themselves right back in the division race with a win this afternoon.
Or, with a loss, they could be buried.
At 3-5, the Seahawks can close the gap over NFC West leading Arizona to just one game, which is pretty remarkable given the disappointments and injuries of this season. But a loss today would leave the Seahawks three games behind the Cardinals with Arizona holding the tiebreaker having won both games.
In other words, a Seahawks season that is teetering close to the edge could come crashing down if they can’t pull off an upset today in Arizona.
“I think there’s a tremendous sense of urgency to win this game,” Seahawks coach Jim Mora said. “Tremendous sense of urgency, just like there was a tremendous sense of urgency to win last week, and we’ve got to continue to prepare with that mindset. We’ve got to realize the significance of our situation, and I believe we do. I believe our players are very aware of it and I sense that they feel a sense of urgency, and we’re trying to make sure that they understand how important it is.”
The last time the Seahawks and Cardinals played this season, it was an early season showdown between the defending NFC champs and the team that had owned the division for the previous four years that was looking to reclaim its title. Today, Arizona can stake its claim to the division for a second straight year, and bury the Seahawks hopes as an added bonus.
A 4-5 record gives the Seahawks hope going forward, whereas 3-6 would pretty much be the death knell to their playoff hopes.
“I think it needs to be known that this game is way more important because of how we’ve shot ourselves in the foot earlier in the season, and because of the adversity that we faced early in the season,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “We really have faced our fair share of adversity already, and because of that, we’ve got a 3-5 record, which is not something we anticipated, and we’ve got a game here that we basically got to win. You know, you try to win them all, but we know that this one’s very important.”
When reporters try to play up the significance of a particular game, the usual status quo line for athletes and coaches is to say that every game is big, and none are more important than others.
But like Hasselbeck, the rest of the Seahawks have dispensed with such cliches leading up to today’s game.
“This is a big game for us man, it really is,” said receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh. “It can turn the course of our season by winning (today), just confidence, and we’ll be one game out of first place.”
“We know what’s at stake,” added tackle Sean Locklear, who will return to the starting lineup after missing six games with an ankle injury. “This is going to tell a lot about how the rest of our season is going to go, so we know it’s a big game.”
“It’s a must win,” echoed running back Julius Jones. “It’s a division game, it’s another game that we’ve got to have. Every single one is one we’ve got to have, but this one is bigger than any other one.”
And while the focus in Seattle is on the enormity of the game, folks here in Arizona are trying to figure out why their team can’t win at home. In an odd twist, the Cardinals are 4-0 this season away from home, but just 1-3 at University of Phoenix Stadium.
A win today for the Cardinals would not only keep them in the driver’s seat in the division race, it would also give them confidence that they can return to being a good team at home.
It’s nice to be unbeaten on the road, but that’s not the Cardinals focus this week.
“You can look at it like that, but we look at it as more so, why is it that we haven’t been more effective at home?” receiver Larry Fitzgerald said when asked about his team’s road success. “I think that’s the more discouraging thing. It appears as though we haven’t been dominant like we have been in past years at home. We need to find a way to get home wins, and we need to do it sooner than later.”
The Seahawks, meanwhile, would love to extend Arizona’s home struggles for one more week, and in doing so keep alive their postseason hopes.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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