Friday 10 November 2017 06:29, UK
There's another divisional battle to kick-start the week's NFL action, with the Arizona Cardinals hosting the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football in the NFC West, live on Sky Sports Action from 12.30am.
Seattle (5-3) come into the contest off the back off a surprise defeat at home to the banged-up Washington Redskins, while Arizona are still just about competitive in the division after downing the winless San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Who comes out on top when these divisional rivals go head to head live on Sky Sports Action (407) from 12.30am?
In 140 Characters...
The Cardinals look to move level within the Seahawks in the NFC West as they host their divisional rivals in colour rush on Thursday night.
What's the latest?
Seahawks running back Eddie Lacy is out of the game, while influential safety Earl Thomas is also a doubt. Lacy suffered a groin injury early in Sunday's loss to Washington, while Thomas is on the verge of missing a second straight game with a hamstring injury.
As for the Cardinals, they have no fresh injury concerns, though back-up quarterback Drew Stanton continues to fill in for Carson Palmer, who is out for the season with a broken arm, sustained on their trip to Twickenham a couple of weeks ago.
Stat attack
Seattle leads the NFC in passing offense - 274.8 yards per game - and rank third in the conference in total offense (378.6). Quarterback Russell Wilson leads the NFC with 2,305 passing yards and is the NFL's top-ranked passer in the fourth quarter with a 132.9 passer rating.
The Seahawks defense is not quite as dominant as it has been previously though, allowing the most points per game (18.6) and yards per game (322.5) since 2011, when Richard Sherman was a rookie and Kam Chancellor and Thomas were only in their second seasons.
Cardinals QB Stanton threw two touchdown passes against the 49ers last Sunday in his first start of 2017 - he has now won all of his past four starts.
Key battle
Unsung hero Wilson is having a superb year - he has 17 touchdowns at the midway point of the season, seeing him on course to match his career-high tally of 34 set in 2015, while his yards per game average is the highest of his six years in the league.
However, this week Wilson goes up against one of the best secondaries in the NFL in Arizona, though one which is seemingly under performing this year. The Cardinals defense is 23rd in the league overall, and 24th in stopping the pass. They'll need to step up to stop Wilson and Seattle.
Game-changer
Adrian Peterson. Cardinals QB Stanton is unlikely to have as easy an outing as he had in San Francisco last week when he takes on Seattle's 'legion of boom' defense, so the Cardinals will likely be looking to lean heavily on the run game. No problem. Peterson rushed for 159 yards against the 49ers, off a career-high 37 carries - that's the most rushing attempts by any back over the age of 30 in the history of the NFL!
Peterson, who turned 32 in March, is also the third-oldest player in NFL history to rush for at least 150 yards in a game, and with another such outing against the Seahawks, he'd join Barry Sanders (25), Jim Brown (22) and Walter Payton (20) as the only players in NFL history with 20 career games of 150+ yards rushing.
Watch the Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football, live on Sky Sports Action from 12.30am on Friday.
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