Seahawks can Defeat Cardinals to Claim Playoff Spot

Right now the Seattle Seahawks are sitting outside of the playoff spots looking in, but this weekend they can claim the final spot and make the postseason. They face an Arizona Cardinals team that won't lay down for them, but they have nothing to play for so I don't expect to see them attack this game as they normally would. The Seahawks should have enough to comfortably beat them this weekend which puts a huge amount of pressure on the Atlanta Falcons to succeed.

The Falcons hold the playoff spot right now, but I don't think they will win, which leaves the door open for Russell Wilson to take his Hawks team into the first round of the playoffs next weekend. The Seahawks are certainly not the team of old, but they have enough to make other teams fear them still, and should they get into the playoffs, no one will want to face them that is for sure.

The Cardinals are going to start quarterback Drew Stanton once again for this game, he has something to prove and did well last weekend when he led his team to a win over the Giants. This is, of course a completely different test against a team who are desperate to win and it will be interesting to see how he handles the occasion.

For the Seahawks, Russell Wilson will, of course, start in the quarterback position. He has been very impressive once again, and his connection with Jimmy Graham has been what a lot of their success has been built upon. Graham may have less than 500 yards this season, but he is a huge red zone target and the big tight end has 10 touchdowns to his name. With players like Doug Baldwin, Paul Richardson and Tyler Lockett providing energy, a weapon like Graham gives the Seahawks a great and very well rounded receiving corps.

This is the final chance of the Seahawks to make the playoffs and their first focus must be on beating the Arizona Cardinals. With the way this game is set up, I believe they will do that comfortably this weekend, and then their attention will turn to Atlanta, where they need to Falcons to lose against the Panthers. That looks to have a big chance of happening, and it would not surprise me to see the Seahawks sneak into the playoffs late on Sunday night.