It’s the second encounter of the season between the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals. Back in Week 2 in Glendale, Mike Macdonald’s team rolled to a 31-7 victory. It was the ‘Hawks 10th straight win in this NFC West series dating back to the clubs’ second meeting in 2021. That afternoon, Drew Lock got the start behind center in place of banged-up Sam Darnold. He threw for 235 yards, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba was on the receiving end of all three Lock touchdown passes

With Darnold ailing again, Macdonald will once again turn to his backup signal-caller. So what can we expect in a rematch that has the Seahawks coming off a decisive Monday night home loss to the Bears and the Cards (with Gardner Minshew at quarterback) looking to build on a 33-30 overtime win over the Cowboys at Arlington?

Seahawks SS Julian Love vs. Cardinals TE Trey McBride

His catches and receiving yardage numbers got better each season during his first four seasons in the league, and was a First Team All-Pro selection in 2025. This season, Cardinals’ tight end Trey McBride leads the NFL with 66 receptions, good for 544 yards and five touchdowns. Could he once again top his statistics from the previous season?

McBride will be facing the Seahawks for the 10th time, and he has been on the short end of the scoreboard in each of the previous nine meetings. In those games, he’s been targeted a combined 75 times—the most vs. any team in the league. He’s totaled 49 catches for 486 yards (9.9 average) and three touchdowns.

In this season’s first meeting, McBride saw 10 passes his way. He finished with eight receptions for 41 yards and Arizona’s lone touchdown of the contest. It shapes up as a great battle with veteran Julian Love, who has a pair of picks this season and lead the Seahawks with six passes defensed.

Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs. Cardinals DC Nick Rallis

It’s pretty much the polar opposite of McBride facing the Seahawks. In seven contests versus the Arizona Cardinals, Seahawks’ wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (second in the NFL with 64 receptions) has yet to be on the losing end of a clash with the Cards.

He’s put up pretty impressive numbers in this division rivalry. The four-year pro has been targeted 46 times and snared 36 passes for 536 yards and seven touchdowns. In this season’s first meeting, a 31-7 victory at Arizona, he totaled nine grabs for 155 yards and three scores.

Hence, Cardinals’ defensive coordinator Nick Rallis and his unit will try to do what only one team has done this season: Hold Smith-Njigba to under 100 receiving yards. He was limited to five catches for 76 yards in his team’s 30-23 victory over the Chargers in Week 4.

Seahawks LB Drake Thomas vs. Cardinals RB Tyler Allgeier

It’s been an interesting week for the Cardinals’ organization. The team is coming off a thrilling 33-30 overtime victory at Dallas last Sunday. The win came via a big afternoon from 2026 free-agent pickup Tyler Allgeier, who ran for 147 yards and one score, as well as solid relief work from Gardner Minshew. The journeyman signal-caller replaced Jacoby Brissett and threw for 188 yards and three touchdowns in the comeback win.

Now consider that 2026 first-round pick Jeremiyah Love is now on injured reserve, and Brissett is now a member of the Baltimore Ravens’ organization. Interesting may not do the Cardinals justice. In any case, Allgeier is a proven performer who ran for 2,876 yards and 18 scores in four seasons with the Falcons.

Seahawks’ linebacker Drake Thomas has actually graded out higher (74.6) than teammate Ernest Jones IV (57.0) as a run defender by Pro Football Focus this season. That alone makes for a fascinating battle.