***SNF IN THE SWAMP - SEA @ ZONA***

***SEATTLE SEAHAWKS @ ARIZONA CARDINALS***

The NFC West takes center stage on Sunday Night Football tonight when the Seattle Seahawks swoop into the desert to take on their rival, the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona struggled taking flight to start the season and were staring at a possible 2-4 record last Monday Night when they hosted the New York Jets. They clamped down and made mince meat of NY, bolstering their record to 3-3 and now look to have really seized momentum moving forward. Zona has won their last two games as they should've since they were against the lowly 49ers and a confused Jets team. Before that MNF game, I would say that the Cards were also a confused team and I admit I was down on them last week when I backed the Jets and thought they might possibly surprise by stealing one for their Head Coach. I was very, very wrong and it wasn't the Arizona passing game that dominated the Jets but the run game with RB David Johnson. DJ ran for 3 TDs and simply could not be stopped or even slowed down against a Jets defensive front where up until that game I thought was a pretty solid defensive front. I think it was a combination of Head Coach Bruce Arians surprising them by focusing the offense on the run since most probably expected them to try and take advantage of the weak Jets secondary which they eventually did as well anyway. Needless to say, I think the Red Birds have finally found themselves. They have put a nice balanced offense together and it is just in time because tonight they will face no cupcake of a team in Seattle. The Hawks have won their last 3 games and are currently sitting at the top of their division with a strong 4-1 record. However aside from their last game against the Falcons where they were able to avoid blowing a big lead in the second half & found a way to win in the waining moments, I am not entirely impressed with them just yet. They have beaten Miami, SF, & NYJ which I think you would agree this is not necessarily murderers row. Now this isn't their fault as they have just beaten who has been put in front of them like they're supposed to do. My point here is that I am not ready to label the Hawks as a top team in the NFL just yet. As the Swamp predicted in the Week 2 edition of the Muck 5, their only loss came in a tough spot on the road against the LA Rams, a rival team who was opening their new home stadium & franchise. Tonight will be a true test since they will now face a Cardinals team who have finally woken up and look more like the quality one we watched last season. This game also serves as a true measuring stick for the Cardinals as well. After looking like crap to start the season, they have bounced back with two confidence building wins against bad teams. We will find out if they are truly back tonight, and I am willing to say that at least for tonight, they are.

This game will be interesting to say the least and should make for a very entertaining back and forth thriller remaining close to the end. A much needed one in the Prime Time spotlight since there have been some real snoozers on the big stage as of late. With no playoff baseball or political debate on tonight to interfere, I would think that the NFL will probably be pleased since this game should provide a nice boost to their beloved ratings tonight. As strong as the Seattle defense has been in recent memory, I think they have shown that they can be passed on and beaten. The same goes for Arizona in my mind where as good as they can be at times, I also see some holes in that defense that can be exploited. That being said I see both offenses having success tonight and being very effective. For the Cardinals, I expect a heavy dose of DJ to start things up and QB Carson Palmer to eventually get it going through the air to his big WRs Fitzgerald and Floyd. For Seattle, QB Russell Wilson is now getting healthier since suffering some injuries earlier this year limiting him in his mobility. It is tough to say how good he is feeling in this area but I think he will keep doing what what he does best, and that's buying time in the pocket with his legs and creating a backyard football style of offense. TE Jimmy Graham has come back from the dead and been a force for Seattle lately. He and Wilson have really built a nice rapport with each other and finally seem to be on the same page. The Cards will try and contain Wilson in the pocket and limit Graham's touches and the Hawks will try and shutdown the David Johnson run game and force Palmer to beat them with his arm. It looks as though the Cards made the necessary adjustments for Palmer to get rid of the ball quicker with short routes underneath by his WRs. This will help keep him upright moving forward and it seems like they have noticed this was a major problem. That being said I like the Cards to continue utilizing the short passing game and letting their YAC monsters get after it after the reception. Basically this has all the makings of a classic nail-biting battle between these two teams that we have all experienced before. I think the dome will be rocking as it was on Monday Night but tonight it should be a much more intense environment since this time around since unlike the Jets, the Hawks will surely be able to hang with the Cards. I believe Head Coach Bruce Arians has never beaten Seattle at home during his tenure as HC in Arizona, tonight seems like a perfect spot to break that streak. CARDINALS-1.5