Is Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals Must-Win in NFC West Title Race? - Locked On Podcast

While the Seattle Seahawks still has 12 games left to play, with San Francisco already building a decent lead in the division winning five of its first six games, Sunday's home game versus Arizona holds great significance from a playoff ramifications standpoint.

Corbin K. Smith | Oct 19, 2023

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Seattle Seahawks

After losing a tight road matchup in Cincinnati, the Seattle Seahawks still remain a game and a half behind the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West, making Sunday's upcoming divisional tilt against the Arizona Cardinals all the more important. But is the first contest against their division rivals a must-win at Lumen Field?

Currently sitting in second place in the division with a 3-2 record, the Seahawks still have 12 games ahead of them. But losing at home to the Cardinals, who will enter Sunday's game with a dismal 1-5 record and still don't have quarterback Kyler Murray back from a torn ACL yet, would be a significant blow to the team's title aspirations on the heels of a disappointing loss to the Bengals.

On the latest installment of Locked On Seahawks, hosts Corbin Smith and Rob Rang investigate the current NFC West standings through six weeks of play, discuss injuries hitting each team in the division such as cornerback Coby Bryant landing on injured reserve, and debate whether or not Seattle's Week 7 home match against Arizona qualifies as a must win to have any shot at unseating San Francisco atop the division.

Smith and Rang also break down six key matchups to watch in Sunday's NFC West matinee, including DK Metcalf and the Seahawks star-studded receiving corps against an untested secondary most likely to be without standout safeties Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson.

Listen to the newest episode in the video player above!

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Published Oct 19, 2023

CORBIN K. SMITH

Graduating from Manchester College in 2012, Smith began his professional career as a high school Economics teacher in Indianapolis and launched his own NFL website covering the Seahawks as a hobby. After teaching and coaching high school football for five years, he transitioned to a full-time sports reporter in 2017, writing for USA Today's Seahawks Wire while continuing to produce the Legion of 12 podcast. He joined the Arena Group in August 2018 and also currently hosts the daily Locked On Seahawks podcast with Rob Rang and Nick Lee. Away from his coverage of the Seahawks and the NFL, Smith dabbles in standup comedy, is a heavy metal enthusiast and previously performed as lead vocalist for a metal band, and enjoys distance running and weight lifting. A habitual commuter, he resides with his wife Natalia in Colorado and spends extensive time reporting from his second residence in the Pacific Northwest.