When a team is struggling, a bye week can be a welcome break. But what happens when a team is on a roll?
The Arizona Cardinals (6-4), who lead the NFC West by one game over the other teams in the division, had last week off to prepare for their upcoming game at Seattle (5-5) on Sunday.
“When you’re playing well as a team, you don’t want to stop,” said Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. “We’ve won three or four in a row now, and it’s fun. You want to keep this going, you don’t want to take a break.”
To be clear, the Cardinals have won four straight games, beating the Los Angeles Chargers 17-15, the Chicago Bears 29-9, the New York Jets 31-6 at home, and the Miami Dolphins 28-27 on the road.
A big part of their success has been the return of a healthy Kyler Murray. Two weeks ago, he completed 22 of 24 passes for 266 yards against the Jets and also ran for two touchdowns.
“When he’s in that zone, he’s unstoppable,” McBride said, who leads the team with 49 catches. “He’s playing at a really high level right now. I’m excited to keep growing with him.”
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon called the game in Seattle a “big-time test on the road.”
“Seattle is always loud, and the weather’s often gray,” Gannon said.
The Seahawks are coming off a 20-17 win against the San Francisco 49ers last week. Quarterback Geno Smith scored a 13-yard touchdown with just 12 seconds left to help his team snap a two-game losing streak. It was only their second win in the last seven games.
“These are the most important games of the season,” Smith said. “The way we came out and fought together shows our urgency. I knew we were going to play well, and I’m glad we got the monkey off our back.”
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said his team is treating the game against Arizona like a “home playoff game.”
“We’ve earned the chance to fight for the lead in the division as we head into the final stretch,” Macdonald said. “That’s how we’re treating it. It’s very much a playoff mindset for us. We can’t afford to lose any more games.
We need to put ourselves in a position to play for important games in December and January, and to do that, we need to execute.”
For the Cardinals, safety Jalen Thompson (ankle) was the only player who missed practice this week. Veteran right tackle Jonah Williams (knee) was activated from injured reserve after missing the entire season so far.
The Seahawks were without tight ends Noah Fant (groin) and Brady Russell (foot), wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. (back), defensive end Leonard Williams (foot), and cornerback Dee Williams (ankle) during practice.
