The Seattle Seahawks are hoping to go 2-0 as they take on the NFC West rival Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.

However, a win is all but guaranteed going into this matchup despite the Seahawks coming in as the defending champs and the Cardinals coming off a season in which they went 3-14. Arizona is already a third of the way toward matching its win total from last year after stunning the Los Angeles Chargers on the road to start the season while Seattle won by the skin of its teeth against the New England Patriots.

Here are three reasons why the Seahawks will be on upset alert against the Cardinals:

Sam Darnold's Absence Could Cause a Problem

The Seahawks are moving forward without Sam Darnold under center this week as he nurses a glute and hip injury that he suffered in the season opener against the New England Patriots.

Darnold will be replaced by Drew Lock, who held his own in relief as he led the Seahawks to victory over the Pats. Lock threw for 187 yards and a touchdown while completing 72.7 percent of his passes in his 2026 debut.

The Seahawks' ceiling on offense is limited with Lock under center instead of Darnold, so Seattle might end up not putting enough points on the board to pull out a win.

The Cardinals Are Hungry for Revenge

The Seahawks have won the last nine meetings against the Cardinals, dating back to Week 17 of the 2021 season. Four season series sweeps later and the Cardinals are hoping to put that to rest with the Seahawks coming to town vulnerable off of Darnold's injury.

The last time the two teams played, in Week 10 last season, the Seahawks built a 35-0 lead midway through the second quarter and blew out the Cardinals in dramatic fashion on both ends of the football. Two touchdowns came from runs: one from Zach Charbonnet and George Holani, and one from Darnold to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a 43-yard touchdown pass. The defense forced two fumbles, which led to DeMarcus Lawrence returning each of them for touchdowns.

The Cardinals aren't forgetting that game as they prepare this week, which should spark an inspired effort from them when the two teams take the field on Sunday.

Divisional Games Tend to Be Tossups

No win is easy in the NFL, especially in defensive games. There's a lot more on the line, given that this is a divisional contest, so the Seahawks could be getting a better version of the Cardinals than they have gotten in the past.

The Seahawks and Cardinals played it close the last time the two teams played in Arizona, as Seattle won by a field goal.

Games like that can go either way, and with the Seahawks sporting a backup quarterback and the Cardinals having a lot of momentum, this game could end up in a loss for Seattle if they don't come in focused.

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