Cardinals vs. Seahawks Week 2 keys to victory

The Arizona Cardinals are 1-0 but face one of their toughest opponents of the season in Week 2, hosting the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. The Seahawks are the defending Super Bowl Champions, they have arguably the best defense in the league and are 1-0 to start the season. They will be missing quarter

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What is the story about?

The Arizona Cardinals are 1-0 but face one of their toughest opponents of the season in Week 2, hosting the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. The Seahawks are the defending Super Bowl Champions, they have arguably the best defense in the league and are 1-0 to start the season.

They will be missing quarterback Sam Darnold, so Drew Lock gets the start.

Can the Cardinals shock the NFL world for a second straight week and snap a nine-game losing streak to Seattle?

If they are going to do that, these are the keys to victory.

Score early

In their last meeting with the Seahawks, they fell behind 35-0 in the first half and turned the ball over twice. In their first meeting last season, they scored first but then fell behind 17-3.

They have to play from ahead or keep the game

close so they can maintain rhythm offensively. They never trailed in their win over the Chargers.

Make Drew Lock be Drew Lock

Lock has been a turnover machine in his career. He can be loose with the football. Last week, though, he was very careful not to turn the ball over. If the Cardinals are going to beat the Seahawks, they must take the ball away at least once.

Don't let run game get shut down

This is easier said than executed. The Cardinals didn't run the ball well against the Chargers, with Tyler Allgeier and Jeremiyah Love averaging 3.6 yards per carry. The Patriots allowed only 2.5 yards per carry to running backs against the Patriots. They have a tremendous run defense.

Arizona's passing game is solid, but if they can't even present a threat to run the ball successfully, the Seattle pas rush will tee off on Jacoby Brissett.

Limit JSN

Jaxon Smith-Njigba had eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. He has had huge games against the Cardinals. He will be Lock's go-to guy.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple Podcasts.