The Seattle Seahawks will play their first divisional game of the 2026 NFL season on Sunday. They'll be on the road versus the surprising 1-0 Arizona Cardinals. New Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur should be awfully familiar with the Seahawks, potentially giving him an unexpected advantage.
LaFleur is in his first season as the Cardinals' head coach. He obviously would have spent the offseason familiarizing himself with his divisional opponents, the Seahawks included. But LaFleur's background indicates he arrived in Arizona already knowing quite a bit about Seattle.
LaFleur spent the previous three seasons (2023-25) as the Los Angeles Rams' offensive coordinator. He spent three years alongside Rams head coach Sean McVay putting together multiple
gameplans a year to play versus the Seahawks' defense. It's worth noting LaFleur didn't call plays in L.A., as that responsibility always belonged to McVay.
That Rams offense beat the Seahawks in Week 11 last season 21-19. Seattle won a Week 16 thriller 38-37 in overtime, but LaFleur's offense nearly scored 40 points. The Seahawks then defeated the Rams in the NFC Championship Game 31-27.
LaFleur's Cardinals offense surprisingly scored 26 points in Week 1. As he prepares for the Seahawks' defense this week, he'll already be familiar with the challenge ahead.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Does Mike LaFleur's familiarity with Seahawks give Cardinals an edge?
