The Seahawks and Cardinals are both playing tomorrow to finish .500 on the 2011 season.  That might not seem like much, but the Seahawks started this year 2-6 while the Cardinals started the year 1-6.  They are both playing their best football of the season right now, which could set up for a classic football game.  The Seahawks beat the Cardinals earlier this year, 13-10 in Seattle.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Seahawks have decided to hook their wagons to Marshawn Lynch and that is when the offense took off.  Look for Lynch to have a heavy workload this Sunday against a Cardinals’ D that is allowing 120.5 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  The Seahawks have not been passing the ball much lately as they are running out of healthy receivers.  That won’t stop them from passing when the have to in this game.  The Cardinals blitz a lot, so the O-Line is going to get challenged in this game.

When the Cardinals have the ball:  The Cardinals are likely going to be more balanced than usual in this game.  That means that Beanie Wells is going to get 20-25 carries, so the Seahawks are going to have to be ready for him.  The Seahawks are giving up only 3.8 yards per carry, so they should be up to the challenge of dealing with Wells.  The Seahawks are going to have to get after John Skelton, because he makes a lot of mistakes with the football when under pressure.  The Seahawks will likely double Larry Fitzgerald the whole game and try to force Skelton to beat them by throwing the ball to Early Doucet and Andre Roberts.

PREDICTION:  CARDINALS 23, SEAHAWKS 20

22-year old safety Earl Thomas is heading to Hawaii after the regular season is over as he will be playing in the Pro Bowl.  Thomas played in 15 games for the Seahawks so far this year and he has 92 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 fumble recoveries, 6 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  He has now played in 31 games in his first two years with the Seahawks and he has 168 tackles, 7 interceptions, 13 passes defensed, 6 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries.  The best is yet to come from Earl Thomas in the coming years.

The Seahawks just couldn’t get enough going offensively to beat the 49ers last Saturday, but they did put up a good fight.  Tarvaris Jackson completed 15 of 28 passes for 163 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Marshawn Lynch led the way on the ground for the Seahawks in this game with 107 yards rushing on 21 carries (5.1 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 24 yards (12.0 avg).  Justin Forsett pitched in with 1 carry for 5 yards and 2 catches for 20 yards.  WRs Ricardo Lockette (1 rec, 44 yards) and Doug Baldwin (2 rec, 17 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Seahawks.  The Seahawks finished up with 126 yards rushing on 27 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 28 passes (53.6%) for 141 yards as they had possession of the ball for 27:06.

The defense was solid against the pass, but no so good against the run for the Seahawks last Saturday.  Safety Kam Chancellor led the way for the Seahawks in this game with 10 tackles.  DT Brandon Mebane (7 tackles), LB David Hawthorne (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed) and DE Chris Clemons (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 3 QB hits) also had solid games for the Seahawks.  The 49ers finished up with 178 yards rushing on 40 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 26 passes (53.8%) for 171 yards in this game.  The Seahawks are now 7-8 on the year.

The Seahawks are rolling right now as they have won three games in a row by a combined score of 99-41!  The Niners thumped the Steelers 20-3 in San Francisco last Monday Night, so they could be in for a let down today.  The Niners won 33-17 over the Seahawks in the season opener in San Francisco.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Seahawks aren’t going to change how they play football today.  Look for RB Marshawn Lynch to get a lot of carries against a Niners’ D that is allowing only 71.5 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry so far this year.  The Seahawks are going to need some WRs or TEs to step up today as they continue to lose players due to injury.  Tarvaris Jackson is going to be under a lot of heat in this game, so he’s going to have to make good decisions and get rid of the ball quickly.

When the 49ers have the ball:  The 49ers are going to come out running the ball with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter.  That is good news for the Seahawks’ D as they only allow 3.7 yards per carry so far this year.  The Seahawks will get after Alex Smith, trying to force him into making some bad throws.  The Seahawks have 21 interceptions so far this year as they have a ballhawking secondary.

PREDICTION:  SEAHAWKS 16, 49ERS 14

The Seahawks have signed 23-year old cornerback Phillip Adams.  Adams played in 6 games earlier this year for the Patriots and he had 8 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  He has now played in 21 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 21 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception.  The Seahawks will be depending on Adams to give them depth in the secondary and help on the special teams.

The Seahawks have lost 27-year old WR Mike Williams for the rest of the season due to a fractured ankle and broken fibula.  Williams played in 11 games for the Seahawks this year and he caught 16 passes for 205 yards (12.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 25 games in his first two years with the Seahawks and he has caught 81 passes for 956 yards (11.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  It will be interesting to see if head coach Pete Carroll will want to bring back his old college WR for the 2012 season.

The defense was awesome for the Seahawks as the Bears only scored 7 points against them today!  LB K.J. Wright (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit), LB David Hawthorne (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), DE Raheem Brock (5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits) and DE Chris Clemons (3 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 2 QB hits) led the way for the Seahawks on D today.  Safety Earl Thomas (interception and fumble recovery), CB Richard Sherman (interception), DE Red Bryant (an interception that he returned 20 yards for a TD) and CB Brandon Browner (interception with a 42-yard return for a TD) also made HUGE plays for the Seahawks today.  The Bears finished up with 132 yards rushing on 31 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 11 of 25 passes (44%) for 89 yards in this game.

The offense was efficient today for the Seahawks.  Tarvaris Jackson completed 19 of 31 passes for 227 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also lost a fumble that was recovered for a TD by DE Isreal Idonije of the Bears.  Marshawn Lynch led the way on the ground with 42 yards rushing on 20 carries (2.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 2 passes for 5 yards today.  WR Golden Tate (4 rec, 61 yards), WR Golden Tate (1 rec, 43 yards) and FB Michael Robinson (1 rec, 2 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game today.  The Seahawks finished up with 60 yards rushing on 33 carries (1.8 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 31 passes (61.3%) for 226 yards as they had possession of the ball for 31:37.  The Seahawks are now 7-7 on the season.

The Seahawks have suddenly got hot as they have won two games in a row and four of their last five games.  The Bears have fallen on hard times as they have lost their last three games, scoring only 33 total points.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Seahawks have been relying more and more on RB Marshawn Lynch and his power running.  The Seahawks are likely going to hand the ball off to him 25-30 times this weekend against a Bears’ D that is giving up 101.7 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry.  Tarvaris Jackson has suddenly got hot along with Lynch, but he’s more of a game manager type QB.  When teams come up to stop Lynch, that’s when Jackson has been going over the top to WRs Doug Baldwin and Golden Tate.  The Bears are giving up 256.5 yards passing per game, so the Seahawks should have success when they do decide to throw the ball.

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears’ offense has went into a shell due to QB Caleb Hanie’s inability to complete passes to his own team.  That means that they are going to be very run heavy with Marion Barber and Kahlil Bell splitting the workload.  The Seahawks did a good job of shutting down Steven Jackson last Monday Night, so they should be able to handle slowing down Barber & Bell this weekend.  If the Seahawks get a good pass rush on Caleb Hanie, they are going to pick off some passes this weekend.

PREDICTION:  SEAHAWKS 17, BEARS 13

28-year old QB Tarvaris Jackson has really played well the last two weeks for the Seahawks.  He has completed 34 of 48 passes (70.8%) for 414 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT in his last two games.  The Seahawks have scored 61 points in their last two games and they are 2-0.  Jackson has now played in 12 games overall this year and he has completed 216 of 356 passes (60.7%) for 2,479 yards with 11 TD passes and 12 INTs (77.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 34 times for 104 yards (3.1 ypc) so far this year.  The Seahawks hope that Jackson’s play of the last two games is not a mirage.

The Seahawks have placed 24-year old rookie CB Ron Parker on the Injured Reserve List due to an undisclosed injury.  Parker played in 2 games for the Seahawks this year but he didn’t make any tackles.  He played in 5 games overall with the Raiders & Seahawks last year but he didn’t have any tackles.  This is no loss for the Seahawks.