Top 5 Players Who Will Decide Cardinals vs Seahawks

It's round two for the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks as the Seahawks look to sweep the season series for the 98th year in a row, or something like that. The Cardinals are looking to turn the season around and build off a big win on Monday Night Football over the Cowboys. The Red Birds head to Lumen Field for this matchup, and the stakes are high in a hyper-competitive NFC West division.

Things are different since the last time these two met on a short week with Jacoby Brissett at the helm for Arizona. Seattle added wide receiver Rashid Shaheed at the trade deadline to break open the offense down the field. Both defenses are solid, but the offenses will tell the story of this game.

Can the Cardinals string together back-to-back wins and get their first NFC West win? Or will the Seahawks resume their dominance and continue to establish themselves as legitimate championship contenders?

We will break down the game with a look at the best players on both teams. Quarterbacks, as always, aren't included in the following top five players, but we will be sure to mention them. And to avoid repetition, I am opting to highlight Cardinals who stood out the most recently; it works out that the players mentioned last week (Paris Johnson Jr. and Trey McBride) were outperformed by the guys I have to mention this time.

But let's get started with the well-traveled quarterbacks.

The quarterbacks...

The Jacoby Brissett era of Cardinals football has arrived for at least the next four games after taking the place of injured Kyler Murray for the last three contests. He's found a way to energize the team, giving the offense a boost and getting the team as a whole to buy in for a second-half-of-the-season surge. If Brissett can do exactly what he's done through three games over the rest of the season, Arizona has a chance to shock the league.

On the flip side of the coin, Sam Darnold has proven that his 2024 season with the Vikings was no fluke, and he's ready to become the star many thought he'd become. He's leading one of the NFL's best offenses, and his connection with star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (more later) has turned them into a juggernaut.

5. Grey Zabel

The Seahawks made Zabel the number one pick in this year's draft, and he's become an immediate stud. He's yet to allow a sack and has helped bring stability to an offensive line that has lacked such for years. On the left side, next to Charles Cross, the Seahawks have found a good pair of young blockers to build a foundation.

Seattle has a high-powered offense, and their ability to keep Darnold upright has been the key to keeping everything on track. The Cardinals would love their veterans like Calais Campbell to officially give him his "Welcome to the NFL, rookie" moment, and there's no better time than in a crucial divisional showdown.

4. Marvin Harrison Jr.

It sure feels like the game is starting to slow down for Harrison after a rough start to the season. Since a frustrating outing against the 49ers back in September, Harrison is averaging 70 receiving yards per game and has topped 90 yards twice. He's also averaging a whopping 16.7 yards per reception and catching around 64% of his targets.

There's still growing to be done, but Harrison has looked better each week, and a new connection with Brissett could help his numbers take off. Harrison currently leads the team in receiving yards over Trey McBride, with 21 fewer catches. He's on pace for his first 1,000-yard receiving campaign and can impress with a good performance against a good Seahawks secondary.

3. Josh Sweat

Sweat has notched seven sacks over eight games with the Cardinals and proven to be worth every cent the team spent on him during free agency. His best seasons with the Eagles came under Gannon when he was the team's defensive coordinator, so a reunion was thought to be a slam dunk; it's been that and more.

The Seahawks’ offensive line has played well this season and has surrendered just nine sacks; however, the Cardinals notched three of those. Arizona will need Sweat to lead an otherwise pedestrian Cardinals pass rush to keep Darnold and Seattle's offense honest. The Cardinals’ pass rush seems to go along with Sweat, so if he doesn't produce, it seems unlikely anyone else will.

2. Leonard Williams

I can think of few defensive linemen who have been as overlooked throughout their careers as much as Williams has, although Calais Campbell can certainly relate. The 11-year vet has had success everywhere he's gone in his career, but he's played perhaps his best football since arriving in Seattle. Williams has become the anchor for a young, talented defense, and he's among its best players.

We're all well aware of the Cardinals' struggles along the offensive line, in particular their guard play. Williams won't be the only guy dominating the trenches with the breakout performance of second-year man Byron Murphy II, but slowing down No. 99 is imperative.

1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba

In the year 2025, Smith-Njigba is the best wide receiver in the league. The third-year man is currently on pace to shatter the single-season receiving yards record as the first to ever post 2,000 receiving yards. He has a chance to make league history this weekend, needing at least eight receptions and 120 receiving yards to mark his fifth straight game with such a stat line. Best of all, he's just 52 yards away from recording 1,000 on the year, and he's averaging 118.5 yards per game.

His worst game of the season came against the Cardinals, catching four passes for 79 yards along with 11 rushing yards on three carries. Other than that, he's crushed every other opponent and is averaging 16.3 yards per reception. Smith-Njigba can beat opponents by himself, and he will be the end of the Cardinals unless they game-plan a way to once again slow him down.