Is Arizona Cardinals' Ugly Loss to Seahawks a Cause for Concern?

The Arizona Cardinals won't go into the playoffs on a high note after the Seattle Seahawks embarrassed them in Week 17. The game ended up being meaningless for the standings, but it could still matter for a squad hoping to contend for a Super Bowl.

Heading into Sunday, the Cardinals had already clinched a first-round bye but were still in contention for the NFC's No. 1 seed. If the Carolina Panthers lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a Cardinals win would have earned them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. 

Not only was the seed at stake, but head coach Bruce Arians also wanted to keep the momentum from recent weeks heading into the playoffs.

"We will approach this game as if it were Game 1 of the season," Arians said earlier in the week, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. "We don’t want to set a pattern of different behavior. We are playing so well right now. I don’t want to change any way we prepare. We know we will get a week to rest anyway. We’ll get plenty of rest."

With a nine-game winning streak and a dominant recent win over the Green Bay Packers, it made sense for the Cardinals to simply continue winning and head into the postseason on a roll. This didn't happen in a 36-6 loss to the Seahawks.

Although the Panthers won and the Cardinals will remain the NFC's No. 2 seed anyway, Sunday's effort was pathetic. Alex Flanagan of NFL Network summed up the display against Seattle:

It is hard to find too many positives from the loss, either. Carson Palmer posted a season-low 60.2 quarterback rating before sitting out the second half in favor of Drew Stanton, who also struggled. Both lines were outworked in the trenches. Even the talented group of receivers suffered from the drops. Adding in poor work on special teams and this was not a game you want to remember.

What this does is remove a lot of the positive vibes the franchise had built up over the past couple of months. The team is no longer invincible, and the Seahawks especially could have an edge if the two were to face each other again. This game can certainly motivate the players, but it could also take away a lot of confidence as they head into the playoffs.

More importantly, the blowout defeat also highlighted some specific problems that could haunt the Cardinals in the coming weeks.

As he has over the past couple of months, Russell Wilson was once again impressive as a passer, throwing three touchdowns with zero interceptions. As Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports notes, the loss of Tyrann Mathieu was evident:

According to Pro Football Focus, Mathieu was the No. 1 cornerback in football this season before he went down with a torn ACL. His rating would also make him the top safety if you want to label him as such. In any case, he was an extremely valuable player who cannot be replaced in this defense.

Although the Packers weren't able to take advantage of the Honey Badger's absence in Week 16, eight sacks certainly helped in this regard. When the defensive front couldn't get to Wilson this week, the secondary suffered. This could put a lot more pressure on the pass rush in the coming games.

Not only did the Seahawks' makeshift offensive line limit the Cardinals to just one sack, it also cleared tons of space in the running game. Christine Michael finished with 102 rushing yards in the win, joining Todd Gurley as the only players to rush for over 100 yards against this defense.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

On the other side of the ball, the red-hot David Johnson was stuffed for just 25 rushing yards on 11 carries. The 2.1 total yards per carry were well-below the team's average of 4.3 for the season. Seattle was tougher on both lines, and it led to a dominant victory.

With teams like the Seahawks, Panthers, Minnesota Vikings and others in the playoffs capable of both running the ball and stopping the run, this could be a major problem for Arizona. If the squad can't win the battles on the offensive and defensive lines, the skill players won't have much they can do.

Despite all of these issues, the Cardinals do have to feel good about their chances heading into the playoffs. They have still won nine of their last 10 games while beating some very good teams in the process, featuring an elite offense and an opportunistic defense. Palmer won't have many games like he showed Sunday while the playmakers on both sides of the ball will make a bigger impact no matter the opponent.

Arizona will also have two weeks to get healthy, work on any problems and refocus mentally after the latest embarrassment. Considering the game ended up not making any difference in the standings, the players should be able to easily get past the bad performance.

Even after this week the Cardinals remain one of the favorites to bring home a Super Bowl title in February. The latest loss certainly raised some eyebrows, but fans should expect much better play once the divisional round begins.

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