The Arizona Cardinals are seeking a 2-0 start for the second consecutive season on Sunday.
Sunday’s opponent? The defending Super Bowl champions and division rivals in the Seattle Seahawks, who are coming off a season-opening victory.
The Cardinals face an uphill climb to actually coming out on top, but there is a path to accomplishing the feat.
Below are the three keys to leaving State Farm Stadium with a victory on Sunday afternoon.
Arizona Must Put Together Strong Game Script
Seattle’s defense is equal parts consistent, physical, an opportunistic.
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett saw as much when Seattle went up 35-0 in the last meeting between the two in November 2025.
Head coach Mike LaFleur is facing pressure to find creative ways to take what the defense gives him. There are a variety of ways to potentially chip away at Seattle’s defense, including finding a balancing act between running backs Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier.
The Cardinals’ duo operates on paper in a similar manner that Seattle’s former duo (Kenneth Walker II, Zach Charbonnet), which gives them a unique advantage.
Beyond this, finding ways to involve Marvin Harrison Jr. on top of Trey McBride and Michael Wilson is crucial. While McBride is the go-to option, Harrison Jr. has a definite chance to take advantage of creative route trees from LaFluer, as well as his sneaky route running.
If Arizona blocks soundly, balances the run game, and picks their spots in the passing game, there’s a real shot they gain an upper hand early.
…Which Includes Strong Game Operations
Seattle thrives on chaos. The Cardinals must start – and remain – clean operationally throughout the game.
While the Cardinals didn’t fall victim to poor blocking or excessive penalties in game one, this must be the norm. Beyond penalty avoidance is creating a clean pocket for Brissett.
The Seahawks’ pass rush is fearsome and physical. Brissett is generally a quality decision maker, but nearly made a crucial mistake last week when facing pressure.
Arizona should feel confident about coming out with a victory if these three areas mentioned above are accomplished.
Cardinals Must Win Turnover Battle
The Cardinals need to take advantage of Seattle trotting out backup QB Drew Lock. The 2019 draft pick is a solid veteran, but has a few parts of his game that DC Nick Rallis can exploit.
Among these are struggling with consistent ball placement and decision making. Rallis drawing up exotic blitzes and coverages give a great chance to confuse the quarterback into grave mistakes. Lock also tends to lock onto receivers (namely on third-and-short situations), which makes bottling up the run game crucial as well.
On the Cardinals’ part, the offense simply must take care of the ball as well. Forcing a Seattle turnover is important, but Brissett avoiding a back-breaking mistakes is perhaps even more vital.
Arizona and Seattle are squaring off at 4:25 P.M. EST/ 1:25 AZT this afternoon on Fox.
Cardinals vs. Seahawks: 3 Keys to Victory for Arizona